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 > Metaconchoecia skogsbergi > Notes Metaconchoecia skogsbergi Drawings   Maps Download species PDF Metaconchoecia skogsbergi (Iles, 1953) Records: 294 In his original description of Conchoecia rotundata from the Mediterranean by Muller (1890) reported there were two forms, one long the other short. These two forms were later separated by Iles (1953) into two species C. teretivalvata (short) and C. skogsbergi (long). Iles cited Skogsberg (1920) account of Conchoecia rotundata from the Southern Ocean as the definitive description for Conchoecia skogsbergi, but without designating any type material or a type locality. Poulsen (1973) classified all the species in Müller's 'rotundata group' in the genus Metaconchoecia that had been suggested by Granata and Caporiacco (1949) but without nominating a type species. So according to the rules the genus remained a nomen nudem until Kempf (1986) designated M. rotundata as its type species. When Gooday (1981) substantially revised the 'skogsbergi' complex, he named six novel species that previously had fallen within the original 'rotundata' concept. He retained the name Conchoecia rotundata for an Atlantic species that best matched Müller's original description of the short form. He also reported that there were three size groups of specimens that were consistent with Skogsberg's description; indeed Skogsberg himself reported some large specimens. Large specimens of Metaconchoecia frequently occur at deep mesopelagic depths and these have been referred to as M. skogsbergi. The size ranges we give below were for specimens collected at 600-700m in a single horizontal tow at Discovery station 9969 (59°S; 20°W south of the Polar Front), and are typical of the smaller of the size forms. Females of the larger forms can reach 1.8mm. The maps show that this is predominantly a Southern Ocean species, with occasional records from deep water in the tropics and in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the abundant records of this species in the Southern Ocean may encompass two or even three species, and the status of the material from elsewhere needs re-evaluation. In their recent revision of the old genus Metaconchoecia Chavtur and Angel (in press) have established a new tribe, the Metaconchoeciinae, to encompass the heterogeneous assemblage of species in the original genus, which they have split into ten genera. This species is retained as a Metaconchoecia species. 59°S 20°W n Mean mm s.d. Range mm Female 157 1.40 0.030 1.34-1.50 Male 160 1.37 0.027 1.32-1.46 A-1 157 1.09 0.034 1.00-1.22 A-2 147 0.82 0.022 0.76-0.88 A-3 111 0.63 0.019 0.58-0.66