OSTRACOD EVOLUTION AND EXTINCTION - ITS BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC VALUE IN THE EUROPEAN QUATERNARY

Abstract

It is only in recent years that the use of freshwater Ostracoda as biomarkers in Quaternary studies has become developed to a useful level. This new utility stems from recent developments in the understanding of the taxonomy, evolution and (palaeo)-ecology of ostracod faunas, particularly those from northern Europe. Patterns of speciation, migration and lineage extinction all contribute to the value of Ostracoda in European biostratigraphies, although the temporal and geographical data presently available remain insufficient for the fully integrated use of ostracods as biostratigraphic indicators. Recent work provides mounting evidence for the migration of species along Quaternary climatic gradients. Such migrations, and subsequent contacts between closely related taxa, allow for the possibility of inter-lineage hybridisation. Hybridisation events may result in the generation of forms with distinctive, stable morphologies, and these may be of particular value in biostatigraphic studies.