Ostracods from the Silurian of Gotland
Ostracods are small, usually microscopic crustaceans. They live in both lakes and seas. The body is surrounded by two shells like a clam. Ostracods are one of the most common arthropods in the fossil record and are found from the Ordovician to the present day.
They were very common in the warm sea that covered Gotland during the Silurian period. In our collections, we have over 13,000 registered ostracod preparations, of which 7,000 are from Gotland, which includes real "giants" of up to 3 cm in length. Ostracods are invaluable indicators of environmental conditions and are useful in arthropod developmental studies and dating sedimentary rocks.