1. A small crustacean with a bivalve shell, found in marine and freshwater environments.
Usage: Also called seed shrimp.; Primarily used in scientific and educational contexts.

Examples

• Ostracods are among the most abundant crustaceans in aquatic ecosystems.
• The fossil record of ostracods extends back hundreds of millions of years.
• Marine biologists collected ostracod samples from the ocean floor.
• Ostracods play an important role in freshwater food webs.
• The shell of an ostracod resembles a tiny clam.