Myodocopa

{{Short description|Subclass of seed shrimps}}

{{Automatic Taxobox

| name = Myodocopida

| taxon = Myodocopa

| authority = Sars, 1866

| subdivision_ranks = Subordinate taxa

| subdivision =

• Family †Swainellidae Kornicker & Sohn, 2000
• Superfamily †Cypridinelliformacea Kornicker & Sohn, 2000
• Superfamily †Entomoconchacea Sylvester-Bradley, 1953
• Superfamily †Entomozoacea Pribyl, 1950
• Superfamily †Nodophilomedoidea Kornicker & Sohn, 2000
• Order Halocyprida Dana, 1853
• Order Myodocopida Sars, 1866

}}

Traditionally, the Myodocopa and Podocopa have been classified as subclasses within the class Ostracoda,{{cite book |url=http://atiniui.nhm.org/pdfs/3839/3839.pdf |title=An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea |author1=Joel W. Martin |author2=George E. Davis |name-list-style=amp |year=2001 |pages=1–132 |publisher=Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County |format=PDF}} although there is some question about how closely related the two groups actually are. The Myodocopa are defined by possession of a poorly calcified carapace, and 8–9 articles in the exopod of the second antenna.{{cite book |author=Louis S. Kornicker |year=1993 |title=Antarctic and Subantarctic Myodocopina (Ostracoda) |publisher=Koeltz Scientific Books |location=Königstein, Germany |isbn=978-3-87429-349-5 |series=Synopses of the Antarctic Benthos}} The ventral margin of the carapace is not concave, and the valves do not overlap to a great extent.{{cite book |author=D. J. Horne |author2=A. C. Cohen |author3=K. Martens |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |chapter=Taxonomy, morphhology and biology of Quaternary and living Ostracoda |editor1=J. Holmes |editor2=A. Chivas |title=The Ostracoda: Applications in Quaternary Research |series=AGV Geophysical Monograph Series |volume=131 |pages=5–36 |isbn=0-87590-990-6 |publisher=American Geophysical Union}}

Although the carapace of myodocopans is poorly calcified, some fossils are known for the group. (In contrast, thousands of fossil species are named for the Podocopa). Of particular interest are those fossils for which the internal body parts (and not just the carapace) are preserved. This provides a lot more information about the likely relatives to the fossil taxa, including relatives still alive today. Two recent fossils of much interest have been found from Silurian deposits (dated at {{Ma|425}}). These fossils have well preserved internal body parts.{{cite journal |author=David J. Siveter |author-link=David J. Siveter |author2=Mark D. Sutton |author3=Derek E. G. Briggs |author4=Derek J. Siveter |name-list-style=amp|year=2003 |title=An ostracode crustacean with soft parts from the Lower Silurian |journal=Science |pmid=14657495 |volume=302 |issue=5651 |pages=1749–1751 |doi=10.1126/science.1091376 |bibcode=2003Sci...302.1749S}}{{cite journal |author1=David J. Siveter |author2=Derek J. Siveter |author3=Mark D. Sutton |author4=Derek E. G. Briggs |year=2007 |title=Brood care in a Silurian ostracod |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=274 |pages=465–469 |pmid=17476765 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2006.3756 |pmc=1766388}}