Myodocopina Sars, 1866

Legiot, Nicolas, 2019, Silurian myodocope ostracods from Poland, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 64 (2), pp. 379-397 : 381

Suborder Myodocopina Sars, 1866

Remarks.—The overwhelming majority of Myodocopa are Recent species that are defined on soft-part morphology. All known fossil myodocopes are assigned to the or- der Myodocopida ; halocyprid myodocopes are unknown from the fossil record. The suborder Paleomyodocopina Kornicker and Sohn, 2000 was established for those fossil myodocopids that were known only from their carapaces in which a sub-central to anterodorsal node/bulb was present: namely, the Cypridinelliformacea, Nodophilomedacea, and Swainellacea. The Bolbozoidea (Silurian–Devonian) also have an anterodorsal bulb and therefore qualify for inclusion within that suborder. However, new knowledge of the appendages and other soft-parts of fossil myodocopids from the Ordovician and Silurian ( Siveter et al. 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018) has fundamentally questioned the utility of carapace-based taxonomy alone and therefore the suborder Paleomyodocopina is not used here.

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Ordovician to Recent; worldwide.