First record of ostracods (Crustacea) in Baltic amber |
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Authors: | Dietmar Keyser Wolfgang Weitschat |
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Institution: | (1) Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;(2) Geological-Palaeontological Institute and Museum, University of Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany |
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Abstract: | Ostracods were found in two pieces of Baltic amber for the first time. The animals belong to the freshwater genus Cyclocypris. Since Baltic amber was formed during Eocene times in southern Scandinavia, the age of the specimens is estimated at 42–54
million years. As aquatic organisms, ostracods are seldom trapped in amber; it is considered that one specimen, already dead
and dried, was either blown onto sticky resin on a plant stem, or washed there by a high flood level, while the other was
probably splashed, alive, in a drop of water against the flowing resin, again probably during a flood. Associated faunal remains,
including other crustaceans, suggest a coastal palaeoenvironment with some marine as well as freshwater influence. |
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Keywords: | amber ostracods Cyclocypris palaeoenvironment Eocene |
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