Ostracod Research at the Lake Biwa Museum, Japan

Robin James Smith

Genus Candonopsis Vavra, 1891

Superfamily: Cypridoidea Baird, 1845
Family: Candonidae Kaufmann, 1900
Subfamily: Candoninae Kaufmann, 1900

Two species have been reported from Japan:

1. Candonopsis kingsleii (Brady & Robertson, 1870)

Figures in: Meisch 2000, Okubo 2004.
Habitat: In Japan reported from irrigation ponds and rice fields. Elsewhere known from littoral zones of lakes, ponds and temporary water bodies (Meisch 2000).
Mode of life: Benthic.
Reproduction mode: Sexual.
Known distribution: None given by Okubo (2004) for Japan. Elsewhere known from Europe, Asia and north America (Meisch 2000).
References:
⚬ Meisch, C. 2000. Freshwater Ostracoda of Western and Central Europe. In: Schwoerbel, J., Zwick, P., (Eds.), Süßwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa 8/3. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin 522 pp.
⚬ Okubo, I. 2004. Nihon tansui san kaimijinko rui ni tsuite. Kabushikigaisha Sanmon Insatsusho, Okayama, Japan, 72pp. [In Japanese, privately published].

2. Candonopsis tenuis (Brady, 1886)

External view of male right valve of Candonopsis tenuis, length 1005 microns.

External view of female right valve of Candonopsis tenuis, length 875 microns. Females are noticeably smaller than males.

The male sexual organ of Candonopsis tenuis, length 244 microns.

Additional figures in: Sars 1896, Karanovic & Marmonier 2002, Smith & Janz 2008.
Habitat: In Japan found along the shores of Lake Biwa (Smith & Janz 2008). Elsewhere reported from a river (Brady 1886), waterholes, a swamp (Sars 1896), a well (Karanovic & Marmonier 2002), and crab holes, tree holes and tin cans (Victor & Fernando 1978).
Mode of Life: Benthic.
Reproduction Mode: Sexual, males common.
Distribution: Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture. Elsewhere, Australia (Brady 1886, as Candona tenuis; Sars 1896; Karanovic & Marmonier 2002), Indonesia (Klie 1932), Samoa and Tonga (Victor & Fernando 1978; Hartmann 1984).
References:
⚬ Brady, G. S. 1886. Notes on freshwater Entomostraca from South Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 82-93.
⚬ Hartmann, G., 1984. Zur Kenntnis der Ostracoden der polynesischen Inseln Huahiné (Gesellschaftsinseln) und Rangiroa (Tuamotu-Inseln). Mitteilungen aus dem hamburgischen zoologischen Museum und Institut 81: 117-169.
⚬ Karanovic, I. & Marmonier, P. 2002. On the genus Candonopsis (Crustacea: Ostracoda: Candoninae) in Australia, with a key to the world recent species. Annales de Limnologie, 38, 199-240.
⚬ Klie, W. 1932. Die Ostracoden der Deutschen Limnologischen Sunda Expedition. In A. Thienemann (ed.) Tropische Binnengewasser. Arch. Hydrobiol., suppl. v. 11, p. 447-502.
⚬ Sars, G. O. 1896. On fresh-water Entomostraca from the neighbourhood of Sydney, partly raised from dried mud. Archiv for Mathematik og Naturvidenskab, 18, 1-81.
⚬ Smith, R. J. & Janz, H. 2008. Recent species of the Family Candonidae (Ostracoda, Crustacea) from the ancient Lake Biwa, Central Japan. Journal of Natural History, 42, 2865-2922.
⚬ Victor, R. & Fernando, C. H. 1978. Systematics and ecological notes on Ostracda from container habitats of some South Pacific islands. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 56, 414-422.