Ostracod Research at the Lake Biwa Museum, Japan

Robin James Smith

Genus Cavernocypris Hartmann, 1964

Superfamily: Cypridoidea
Family: Cyprididae
Subfamily: Cypridopsinae

Two species have been reported from Japan:

Cavernocypris cavernosa Smith, 2011

Left side view of a female Cavernocypris cavernosa, length about 0.6 mm.

External view of a female left valve of Cavernocypris cavernosa, length 590 microns. The surface of the carapace is covered in numerous small pits.

External view of a female right valve of Cavernocypris cavernosa, length 573 microns.

Additional figures in: Smith 2011.
Habitat: Poorly sorted gravels of springs and rivers.
Mode of life: Interstitial.
Reproductive mode: Asexual, males unknown.
Known distribution: Shiga and Shizuoka Prefectures, Japan.
References:
⚬ Smith, R. J. 2011. Groundwater, spring and interstitial Ostracoda (Crustacea) from Shiga Prefecture, Japan, including descriptions of three new species and one new genus. Zootaxa, 3140, 15-37.
⚬ Tanaka, H., Kotorii, H., Yokozawa, K., Wakabayashi, F., Kimoto, K. & Sano, K. 2015. Distribution and occurrence of freshwater Ostracoda (Crustacea) from southwest region of Mt. Fuji. TAXA, Proceedings of the Japanese Society of Systematic Zoology, 38, 26-41. [In Japanese with English abstract.]


Cavernocypris hokkaiensis Munakata et al., 2022

Figures in: Munakata et al. 2022.
Habitat: Riverbed sediments of an alpine stream.
Mode of life: Interstitial.
Reproductive mode: Asexual, males unknown.
Known distribution: Hokkaido, Japan.
References:
⚬ Munakata, M., Tanaka, H. & Kakui, K. 2022. Taxonomy and natural history of Cavernocypris hokkaiensis sp. nov., the first ostracod reported from alpine streams in Japan. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 98 (1), 117-127.