Recent Bairdiidae (Ostracoda) From Ascension Island

Abstract

A collection of intertidal algae on rocky shores of Ascension Island has yielded a large population of living ostracodes, most of which belong to four species of Bairdiidae. The shallow benthonic ostracodes of Ascension are almost completely unknown, and no bairdiids have previously been reported. The association appears to have both Mediterranean and Caribbean affinities. Our acquaintance with the ostracode faunas on both sides of the equatorial Atlantic is so slight that it seems appropriate to describe these few bairdiid species, even though the material available by no means represents the entire ostracode fauna of Ascension Island. The most abundant form is a new species of Neonesidea, N. manningi. More noteworthy is the occurrence of a Triebelina closely related to T. raripila (M?ller), a Mediterranean species first described from the Bay of Naples. The third form, Bairdoppilata? species 1, is closely related to a common Caribbean-Antillean species. Another species of Bairdoppilata? is represented by a single specimen. These samples were collected by R. B. Manning and Doug Rogers (Smithsonian Institution), 22 May 1971, and comprise U. S. National Museum Accession No. 294338. The locations are as follows: