Ostracod Research at the Lake Biwa Museum, Japan

Robin James Smith

Genus Physocypria Vavra, 1897

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

Two species have been reported from Korea:

1. Physocypria kraepelini Müller, 1903

Figures in: Meisch 2000.
Habitat: Unclear. Elsewhere, found in ponds, the littoral zone of lakes, streams, canals and ditches (Meisch 2000).
Mode of life: Nektobenthic.
Reproductive mode: Sexual.
Known distribution: East coast of South Korea (Lee et al. 2000). Elsewhere, Europe and Asia (Meisch 2000).
Remarks: See below for Physocypria nipponica.
References:
⚬ Lee, E., Huh, M. & Schornikov, E. I. 2000. Ostracod fauna from the East Sea coast of Korea and their distribution - preliminary study on Ostracoda as an indicator of water pollution. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea, 36, 435-472. [In Korean with English abstract.]
⚬ 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.

2. Physocypria nipponica Okubo, 1990

External view of a female left valve of Physocypria nipponica, length 586 microns.

External view of a female right valve of Physocypria nipponica, length 575 microns.

The male sexual organ of Physocypria nipponica, length 162 microns.

Additional figures in: Okubo 1990; Okubo 2004; Smith & Janz 2008; Chang et al. 2012.
Habitat: Swamps, marshes, overgrown channels, lotus fields, irrigation ponds, reservoirs, and caves (Chang et al. 2012; Smith et al. 2014).
Mode of life: Nektobenthic.
Reproductive mode: Sexual.
Known distribution: South east of South Korea and Jeju Island (Chang et al. 2012; Smith et al. 2014). Elsewhere, known from Japan (Smith & Janz 2008).
Remarks: Chang et al. (2012) opined that all Korean records of Physocypria maybe the same species.
References:
⚬ Chang, C. Y., Lee, J. & Smith, R. J. 2012. Nonmarine ostracods (Crustacea) from South Korea, including a description of a new species of Tanycypris Triebel (Cyprididae, Cypricercinae). Zootaxa, 3161, 1-19.
⚬ Okubo, I. 1990. Seven new species of freshwater Ostracoda from Japan. Researches on Crustacea, 19, 1-12.
⚬ Okubo, I. 2004. Nihon tansui san kaimijinko rui ni tsuite. Kabushikigaisha Sanmon Insatsusho, Okayama, Japan, 72pp. [In Japanese, privately published].
⚬ 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.
⚬ Smith, R. J., Lee, J. & Chang, C. Y. 2014. Nonmarine Ostracoda (Crustacea) from Jeju Island, South Korea, including descriptions of two new species. Journal of Natural History, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2014.946110, 1-40.