Rare tiny creatures found in loch near Kinross

9 December 2016

Tiny crustaceans previously recorded at two locations in the British Isles have been found in a loch near Kinross.

Cytherissa lacustris, a species of creature called ostracods, only grow to about a millimetre in length.

Until now, this species had only been known to be living at Loch Assynt in Scotland and a site in north England.

David Horne, professor of micropalaeontology at Queen Mary University of London, found Cytherissa lacustris in Loch Leven.

The species is rare in Britain, but "quite well-known" elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, including parts of Europe and Canada, said Prof Horne.

He was alerted to the possibility that the creatures were living in Loch Leven during a visit to the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Prof Horne had gone there to study a large archive of ostracods collected by a 19th Century naturalist, George Brady.

 

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Fish filmed spitting ostracod 'fireworks'

One of nature's most dazzling underwater displays, bioluminescence, has been captured as a form of self-defence by a BBC film crew.

Ostracods are one of the ocean-living animals which give off light when they are disturbed.

They produce the chemicals luciferin and luciferase, which emit light when mixed together. The process is called bioluminescence, an adaptation that allows animals to be seen in the complete darkness of the deep sea.

To demonstrate why organisms are able to generate light, ostracods were put into a tank containing cardinal fish, which eat plankton.

When an ostracod is swallowed, it emits a burst of light, making the cardinal fish spit it out.

Physicist and BBC presenter Helen Czerski said: "It's like a little fish firework."

Read more and watch video ...

Invasive Crayfish Smuggled Alien Species Overseas

When the red swamp crayfish invaded Europe more than 30 years ago, it may have smuggled another species overseas.

Scientists say they've found an alien type of tiny crustacean in Spain, and evidence suggests it came from North America on the back of the crayfish.

A team of researchers collected 203 red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) from a dozen different sites along the Iberian Peninsula between 2003 and 2009. They found that 147 crayfish across almost all of the sampled regions were carrying ostracods known as Ankylocythere sinuosa, little crustaceans no more than a half-millimeter in length that lay their eggs on the crayfish. The ostracods need the crayfish to survive, not only laying their eggs on them but also clinging onto the crayfish as they develop.

Continued:  http://www.livescience.com/23081-invasive-crayfish-smuggled-alien-species-overseas.html