Home Introduction What is an ostracod? World species list Southern Ocean list About the authors Bibliography Acknowledgements Links Last updated 14 March 2008 Southern Ocean list > Alacia valdiviae > Notes Alacia valdiviae Drawings   Maps Download species PDF Alacia valdiviae (Müller, G.W., 1906) Records: 147 One of the largest halocyprid species, which lives at deep mesopelagic to bathypelagic depths. Live adults are immediately identifiable being bright red in colour (see Muller's 1906 colour plate and the title page of this atlas). It has an extensive latitudinal range and may be associated with Antarctic Intermediate Water (Fasham and Angel, 1975). However, there are wide variations in carapace length; Southern Ocean specimens are smaller than those from tropical latitudes, and Poulsen (1973) reported the largest specimens from the Eastern Tropical Pacific. These size variations suggest that a critical re-evaluation may reveal presence of cryptic species: - Southern Ocean n Mean mm s.d. Range mm Female 109 5.39 0.133 5.08-5.58 Male 60 5.03 0.109 4.92-5.33 A-1 46 3.75 0.085 3.60-3.92 A-2 23 2.56 0.068 2.44-2.68 Tropical Atlantic n Mean mm s.d. Range mm Female 20 5.80 0.119 5.58-6.00 Male 16 5.47 0.082 5.25-5.58 A-1 28 3.88 0.084 3.68-4.08 A-2 34 2.55 0.067 2.44-2.68 A-3 42 1.75 0.064 1.60-1.86 A-4 9 1.15 0.054 1.04-1.24 E. Trop. Pacific* n Mean mm s.d. Range mm Female 63 6.58 0.21 6.15-7.08 Male 50 6.05 0.19 5.69-6.62 A-1 20 4.15 0.13 3.85-4.30   *Data from Poulsen (1973)