Ostracoda

Os`trac´o`da

prop. n. p

1.

(Zool.) An order of Entomostraca possessing shrimplike bodies enclosed in hard bivalve shells; called also seed shrimp and mussel shrimp. They were formerly referred to as Ostracoidea. They are of small size, and swim freely about; many are less than 1 mm in length. Microfossils of certain extinct orders have been found extending back to the Cambrian age.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

Ostracoda - seed shrimps                         subclass Ostracoda class Crustacea, Crustacea - class of mandibulate arthropods including: lobsters; crabs; shrimps; woodlice; barnacles; decapods; water fleas mussel shrimp, ostracod, seed shrimp - tiny marine and freshwater crustaceans with a shrimp-like body enclosed in a bivalve shell class - (biology) a taxonomic group containing one or more orders