Atlas of Atlantic Ostracods
Taxon details
Paraconchoecia echinata (Müller, G.W., 1906)
- Order:
- MYODOCOPA
- Suborder:
- Halocypridina
- Family:
- Halocyprididae
- Subfamily:
- Conchoecinae
- Size range (females):
- 1.8-2.0 mm
- Size range (males):
- 1.6-1.8 mm
- Depth:
- epi-/mesopelagic
Notes
171 records
Described by Müller (1906) from the tropical Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, he classified in his ‘spinifera group’. It was also reported from the Atlantic as Conchoecia notocera by Vavra (1906). Poulsen (1973) re-classified it in Paraconchoecia reported it mostly from tropical latitudes in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The few records from latitudes >30° must be regarded with suspicion, notably the record from the Chilean coast and the one from the vicinity of the Azores where extensive sampling in 1981 from Discovery failed to find a single specimen. The shape of the carapace is characteristic, with a spine on the posterior dorsal corner of the right valve, and a straight posterior margin that forms a right angle with the dorsal margin and almost a right angle with the ventral margin. The ventral margin tapers anteriorly, so the maximum carapace height is almost level with the posterior margin. The bathymetric profiles show that it is predominantly a shallow mesopelagic species inhabiting subthermocline waters between 100-300m and that show little evidence of diel vertical migration.
| Equator | n | Mean mm | s.d. | Range mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 204 | 1.92 | 0.043 | 1.80-2.04 |
| Male | 196 | 1.68 | 0.029 | 1.58-1.78 |
| A-1 | 260 | 1.35 | 0.027 | 1.28-1.42 |
| A-2 | 241 | 0.94 | 0.023 | 0.86-1.00 |
| A-3 | 41 | 0.68 | 0.013 | 0.64-0.70 |
