Ostracoda from the Louisiana Continental Shelf

Abstract

There have been no published comprehensive studies of the Ostracoda of the Louisiana Continental Shelf west of the Mississippi River Delta. This paper presents a study of that area and includes taxonomic and environmental data. Ostracode specimens were taken from 123 bottom samples of Holocene age, collected on the continental shelf and slope. Five distinct ostracode assemblages are recognized and related to water depth and sediment grain size. Several individual species are also recognized as useful indicators of water depth. Water depth and salinity ranges of several species are extended in relation to previous reports. Sixty species are identified, with nine species and two subspecies considered new. The following new taxa are described: Actinocythereis vandenboldi, Basslerites vokesi, Cytherella vermilionensis, Cytheropteron morgani, Cytheropteron tumulosimilis, Loxoconcha moralesi, Luvula gigartonoides, Macrocyprina skinneri, Puriana krutaki, Protocytheretta montezuma louisianensis, and Munseyella bermudezi louisianensis.