Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5759 No. 4: 18 Feb. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-02-18
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5759.4.1
Abstract views: 23
PDF downloaded: 3

Systematics of Quaternary and recent marine ostracods (Arthropoda, Crustacea, Ostracoda, Podocopida) from South Africa. Part 1. Hemicytheridae, Trachyleberidae

Institute of Geological Sciences of the NAS of Ukraine; Kyiv; Ukraine; Institute of Geosciences; University of Jena; Germany
Institute of Geosciences; University of Jena; Germany; Department of Archaeology; Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology; Jena; Germany; Institute of Geography; University of Jena; Germany e.t.a. Sachverständigenbüro Reyer; Erfurt; Germany
Institute of Geosciences; University of Jena; Germany; e.t.a. Sachverständigenbüro Reyer; Erfurt; Germany
Institute of Geosciences; University of Jena; Germany
Crustacea Atlantic and Indian oceans continental shelf sexual dimorphism endemic species Aurila-Tooth

Abstract

The article is a continuation of systematic studies of marine ostracods of South Africa. The synonymies of the species Aurila dayii (Aurila strongyle “syn. nov.”) and Aurila petricola (Hemicythere? sp. “syn. nov.”) are proposed. For the first time, diagnostic characters of the species Hemicythere californiensis, Aurila petricola, Aurila kliei, and Mutilus bensonmaddocksorum have been identified. The presence/absence of the diagnostic “Aurila-Tooth” and its variability in the species Aurila dayii and Aurila petricola are discussed. SEM/DM images of generic and specific taxonomic characters are given. For the first time, sexual dimorphism of the shell was identified for the species Hemicythere californiensis and Urocythereis arcana, and supplemented for Aurila dayii, A. petricola, A. kliei, Mutilus bensonmaddocksorum, and M. malloryi. North Atlantic, North Pacific, and endemic zoogeographical groups of ostracods were identified, and it was concluded that endemics (70% of the total number of described species) dominate the biotopes of the southern and eastern coasts of South Africa. Data on the ecology, stratigraphic position, and geographical distribution of South African ostracods have been supplemented. Conclusions were made regarding the varying degrees of study of ostracods of the genera Hemicythere, Aurila, Mutilus, Urocythereis, and the need for further study of intraspecific variability, sexual dimorphism, and ontogenesis of ostracods in shell morphology, which are important for correct species identification.

 

References

  1. Athersuch, J., Horne, D.J. & Whittaker, J.E. (1989) Marine and brackish water ostracods (superfamilies Cypridacea and Cytheracea): keys and notes for the identification of the species. In: Doris, M. & Barnes, R.S.K. (Eds.), Synopses of the British Fauna. New Series 43. Brill/Backhuys, Leiden, pp. 1–360. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004627666_003
  2. Benson, R.H. & Maddocks, R.F. (1964) Recent ostracodes of Knysna Estuary, Cape Province, Union of South Africa. Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas, Paleontological Contributions. Arthropoda. Article 5. University of Kansas Publications, Lawrence, Kansas, 39 pp., 6 pls., 22 figs.
  3. Brady, G.S. (1881) Report on the Ostracoda dredged by H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–1876. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Zoology, 1 (3), 1–184.
  4. Conway-Physick, J. (1995) The Holocene ostracods of the Agulhas Bank, South Africa: their classification, distribution and ecology. Master of Science thesis, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, 159 pp. [http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17467]
  5. Dingle, R.V. (1992) Quaternary ostracods from the continental margin off South-Western Africa. Part I. Dominant taxa. Annals of the South African Museum, 102 (1), 1–89.
  6. Dingle, R.V. (1993) Quaternary ostracods from the continental margin off South-Western Africa. Part II. Minor taxa. Annals of the South African Museum, 103 (1), 1–165.
  7. Dingle, R.V. (1994) Quaternary ostracods from the continental margin of South-Western Africa. Part III. Oceanography and sedimentary environments. Annals of the South African Museum, 103 (7), 383–441.
  8. Dingle, R.V. (1995) Continental shelf upwelling and benthic Ostracoda in the Benguela System (Southeastern Atlantic Ocean). Marine Geology, 122, 207–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(94)00098-6
  9. Dingle, R.V. (2012) Ostracod collection: Natural History Museum, London. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 31, 189–192. https://doi.org/10.1144/0262-821X11-021
  10. Dingle, R.V., Bremner, J.M., Giraudeau, J. & Buhmann, D. (1996) Modern and palaeo-oceanographic environments under Benguela upwelling cells off southern Namibia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 123, 85–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(96)00116-2
  11. Dingle, R.V. & Giraudeau, J. (1993) Benthic Ostracoda in the Benguela System (SE Atlantic): A multivariate analysis. Marine Micropaleontology, 22, 71–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-8398(93)90004-H
  12. Dingle, R.V. & Honigstein, A. (1994) Ostracoda from Quaternary coastal sequences in the south-western Cape. Annals of the South African Museum, 104 (5), 63–114.
  13. Dingle, R.V., Lord, A.R. & Boomer, I.D. (1990) Deep-water Ostracoda from the continental margin off South-West Africa (SE Atlantic Ocean). Annals of the South African Museum, 90 (9), 245–466.
  14. Dingle, R.V., McMillan, I.K., Majoran, S. & Bisset, L. (2001) Miocene subtropical ostracod faunas from the continental shelf of the SE Atlantic Ocean. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 173, 43–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(01)00312-1
  15. Dykan, N. (2006) Systematization of Quaternary Ostracoda of Ukraine (a reference-book). Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, 430 pp. [in Ukrainian]
  16. Dykan, N. (2016) Neogene–Quaternary ostracodes of the northern part of the Black Sea. Chetverta Hvylia, Kyiv, 272 pp. [in Russian]
  17. Dykan, N.I. (2020) Quaternary and Recent ostracodes of the Tyrrhenian and the Red Seas. Chetverta Hvylia, Kyiv, 148 pp. [in Ukrainian]
  18. Dykan, N. (2021) Some theoretical aspects of the systematic study of fossil ostracods (Arthropoda, Crustacea, Ostracoda) in the context of species problems in palaeontology. In: Zagorodnyuk, I. (Ed.), Species in Biology: Theory and Practice. Ukrainian Theriological Society and National Museum of Natural History, NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, pp. 127–139. [in Ukrainian] https://doi.org/10.53452/nt1223
  19. Dykan, N. & Daniel, T. (2023) New data on the systematics of Recent Ostracoda of the genus Ambostracon Hazel, 1962 (Hemicytheridae, Podocopida) from South Africa. Geological Journal, 4, 3–19. https://doi.org/10.30836/igs.1025-6814.2023.4.279470
  20. Frenzel, P., Bergh, E., Gander, L. & Strachan, K. (2017) Microfossils. In: Zabel, M. (Ed.), Climate Archives in Coastal Waters of Southern Africa. Cruise No. M123. Zentrum für Marine Umweltwissenschaften der Universität Bremen, Bremen, pp. 25–38.
  21. Frewin, J. (1987) Palaeogene ostracods from the South African continental shelf. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 130 pp. [http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17003]
  22. Fürstenberg, S., Gründler, N., Meschner, S. & Frenzel, P. (2017) Microfossils in surface sediments of brackish waters on the west coast of South Africa and their palaeoecological implications. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 42 (4), 329–339. https://doi.org/10.2989/16085914.2017.1406326
  23. Gildeeva, O., Akita, L.G., Biehler, J., Frenzel, P. & Alivernini, M. (2021) Recent brackish water Foraminifera and Ostracoda from two estuaries in Ghana and their potential as (palaeo)environmental indicators. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 256, 107347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2021.107270
  24. Hahn, A., Schefuß, E., Andò, S., Cawthra, H.C., Frenzel, P., Kugel, M., Meschner, S., Mollenhauer, G. & Zabel, M. (2017) Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation drives oceanic and climatic conditions in late Holocene southernmost Africa. Climate of the Past, 13, 649–665. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-649-2017
  25. Hartmann, G. (1957) Ostrakoden aus dem Namaland und Transvaal. Veröffentlichungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins Osnabrück, 28, 50–61. [in German]
  26. Hartmann, G. (1974) Zur Kenntnis des Eulitorals der afrikanischen Westküste zwischen Angola und Kap der Guten Hoffnung und der afrikanischen Ostküste von Südafrika und Mocambique, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Polychaeten und Ostracoden. Teil III. Die Ostracoden des Untersuchungsgebiets. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 69, 229–520. [in German]
  27. Hartmann-Schröder, G. & Hartmann, G. (1974) Zur Kenntnis des Eulitorals der afrikanischen Westküste zwischen Angola und Kap der Guten Hoffnung und der afrikanischen Ostküste von Südafrika und Mocambique, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Polychaeten und Ostracoden. Teil I. Beschreibung der Lebensräume, Ökologie und Zoogeographie. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 69, 5–94. [in German]
  28. ICZN [International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature] (1999) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, 4th ed. International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature, London, 306 pp.
  29. Karmishina, G. (Ed.) (1989) Practical manual on microfauna of the USSR. Vol. 3. Cenozoic Ostracoda. Nedra, Leningrad, 235 pp. [in Russian]
  30. Klie, W. (1940) Beiträge zur Fauna des Eulitorals von Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika. II. Ostracoden von der Küste Deutsch-Südwest-Afrikas. Kieler Meeresforschungen, 3 (2), 404–448.
  31. Le Roy, L.W. (1943) Pleistocene and Pliocene Ostracoda of the coastal region of Southern California. Journal of Paleontology, 17 (4), 354–373.
  32. Maddocks, R.F. (1991) New Bairdiidae (Ostracoda) from Tulear, Madagascar. Journal of Micropalaeontology, 9 (2), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1144/jm.9.2.189
  33. Martens, K. (1984) Annotated Checklist of Non-Marine Ostracods from African Inland Waters. Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, 51 pp.
  34. Martens, K., Davies, B.R., Baxter, A.J. & Meadows, M.E. (1996) A contribution to the taxonomy and ecology of the Ostracoda (Crustacea) from Verlorenvlei (Western Cape, South Africa). South African Journal of Zoology, 31 (1), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02541858.1996.11448392
  35. Martens, K., Haver, M. & Coke, M. (1998) A preliminary account of the diversity of non-marine Ostracoda (Crustacea) in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Lammergeyer, 45, 17–31.
  36. McKenzie, K.G. (1972) A new species of Paradoxostoma (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from South Africa. Annals of the South African Museum, 59 (7), 132–137.
  37. McKenzie, K.G. (1977) Illustrated generic key to South African continental Ostracoda. Annals of the South African Museum, 74 (3), 45–103.
  38. Moore, R.C. (Ed.) (1961) Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part Q. Arthropoda 3 (Crustacea, Ostracoda). Geological Society of America and University of Kansas Press, Boulder, Colorado, 651 pp.
  39. Müller, G.W. (1908) Die Ostracoden der Deutschen Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Südpolar-Expedition, 10 (Zoologie, 2), 51–181. [in German]
  40. Puri, H.S. (1953) The ostracode genus Hemicythere and its allies. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 43 (6), 169–179.
  41. Rosenfeld, A. & Bein, A. (1978) A preliminary note of recent ostracodes from shelf to rise sediments off Northwest Africa. “Meteor” Forschungsergebnisse, Reihe C (29), 14–20.
  42. Sars, G.O. (1924) The freshwater Entomostraca of the Cape Province (Union of South Africa). Part II: Ostracoda. Annals of the South African Museum, 20, 159–210.
  43. Shornikov, E.I. (1969) Subclass of Ostracoda or Crustacea. In: Mordukhai-Boltovskoy F.D. (Ed.), Determinant of the Fauna of the Black and Azov Seas. Vol. 2. Naukova Dumka, Kyiv, pp. 163–260. [in Russian]
  44. Skogsberg, T. (1928) Studies of marine ostracods. Part 2: External morphology of the genus Cythereis, with descriptions of twenty-one new species. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 15, 1–155.
  45. Schmitz, O., Mehlhorn, P., Finch, J., Haberzettl, T., Hahn, A., Hill, T., Kretschmer, K. & Frenzel, P. (2024) Ostracoda and Foraminifera as bioindicators of (aquatic) pollution in the protected area of uMlalazi estuary, South Africa. Revue de micropaléontologie, 83, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revmic.2024.100771
  46. Szuromi-Korecz, A., Magyar, I., Sztanó, O., Csoma, V., Botka, D., Sebe, K. & Mohr, E. (2021) Various marginal marine environments in the Central Paratethys: Late Badenian and Sarmatian (middle Miocene) marine and non-marine microfossils from Pécs-Danitzpuszta, southern Hungary. Földtani Közlöny, 151 (3–4), 275–305. https://doi.org/10.23928/foldt.kozl.2021.151.3.275
  47. Swain, F.M. (1969) Taxonomy and ecology of near-shore Ostracoda from the Pacific coast of North and Central America. In: Neale, J.W. (Ed.), Taxonomy, Morphology and Ecology of Holocene Ostracoda. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, pp. 423–487.
  48. Van Morkhoven, F.P. (1963) Post-Palaeozoic Ostracoda: Their Morphology, Taxonomy and Economic Use. Elsevier Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 478 pp.
  49. Whatley, R.C. & Dingle, R.V. (1989) First record of an extant, sighted, shallow-water species of the genus Poseidonamicus Benson (Ostracoda) from the continental margin of south-western Africa. Annals of the South African Museum, 98 (11), 437–457.
  50. Wood, A.M., Wilkinson, I.P., Maybury, C.A. & Whatley, R.C. (2009) Neogene. In: Whittaker, J.E. & Hart, M.B. (Eds.), Ostracods in British Stratigraphy. The Micropalaeontological Society Special Publication. The Geological Society, London, pp. 411–446. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.1233
  51. WoRMS (2025) Ostracoda. World Register of Marine Species. Available from: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1078 (accessed 3 July 2025)
  52. Wouters, K. (1973) Le genre Aurila Pokorny (Crustacea, Ostracoda) dans le Plio-Pléistocène de Belgique. Revue de Micropaléontologie, 16, 194–201.
  53. Wouters, K. (2002) On the distribution of Cyprideis torosa (Jones) (Crustacea, Ostracoda) in Africa, with the discussion of a new record from the Seychelles. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Biologie, 72, 131–140.
  54. Wouters, K. (2003) New records of the genus Cyprideis (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from South Africa. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Biologie, 73, 161–165.

How to Cite

Dykan, N.I., Schmitz, O., Daniel, T. & Frenzel, P. (2026) Systematics of Quaternary and recent marine ostracods (Arthropoda, Crustacea, Ostracoda, Podocopida) from South Africa. Part 1. Hemicytheridae, Trachyleberidae. Zootaxa, 5759 (4). https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5759.4.1