Atlas of Atlantic Ostracods
Taxon details
Clausoecia pusilla (Müller, G.W., 1906)
- Order:
- MYODOCOPA
- Suborder:
- Halocypridina
- Family:
- Halocyprididae
- Subfamily:
- Conchoecinae
- Size range (females):
- 0.8-1.0 mm
- Size range (males):
- 0.8-0.9 mm
- Depth:
- meso-/bathypelagic
Notes
205 records
Müller (1906) classified this small species in his ‘rotundata group’, which Poulsen (1973) re-classified as a Metaconchoecia species. Chavtur and Angel (in press) are revising Metaconchoecia creating a new tribe Metaconchoeciinae and describing nine new genera. This species is classified in a monospecific genus Clausoecia, but there are a number of size forms. Müller (1906) described two, C. pusilla major (females 0.90-0.98mm and males 0.85-0.95mm) and C. pusilla minor (females 0.70-0.85mm and males 0.70-0.85mm). The lengths given below from 10°N 20°W are consistent with the smaller of the two subspecies, which Müller recorded from the Indian Ocean but not the Atlantic. An even smaller form has been sampled at bathypelagic to abyssopelagic depths in the North Atlantic and its distribution is shown as aff. pusilla in the map. It seems likely that some if not all these different size forms will prove to be separate species. The known latitudinal range is 46°S to 60°N, but it is absent from the North and Central Pacific. All the records south of 30°S were reported by Deevey (1983) and were published posthumously; the specimens need to be checked to confirm these apparently anomalous records did not result from confusion with Australoecia isocheira, which is superficially similar. Its bathymetric profiles show that it is predominantly a deep mesopelagic species with a range of 500-1000m.
| 10°N | n | Mean mm | s.d. | Range mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 155 | 0.76 | 0.028 | 0.70-0.84 |
| Male | 59 | 0.73 | 0.026 | 0.66-0.76 |
| A-1 | 35 | 0.64 | 0.019 | 0.62-0.68 |
| A-2 |
