#ostracod

@fr00gyx3 submitted: I need help identifying these while people have tried the answers haven't been correct they look so cool i just want to know what my new observation subjects are I live in northern Kentucky the water they're in is very old but it's been raining at a healthy consistency so they're still getting fresh water there's a ton of old leafs from over the years which is what I assume they eat as they’re too many of them to be eating eachother all photos were taken by me on my property so I've been keeping an eye on them they're very tiny this is at 10x zoom if I had to guess I'd say they're 1-3 mm though i haven't measured as I have only been observing and don't wish to disrupt them i suspect some sort of fly larve yet I am unsure and I haven't been able to get a definite answer in the month since I noticed them

thanks for everyone who stopped by on another one of my impromptu art streams!

that night i drew two Nymphatelina gravida as viewed from a microscope

You know what I spontaneously learned tonight?

The eyes of twilight zone ostracods are "parabolic mirrors", & I don't actually know what that means, but what I do understand is that the consequence of that structure is that they might perceive more light than any other animal. Sick.

Teethy manyhorn crab (male)

Small crustacean found in reefs. Males have huge horns on their head that they use to fight with other males for the right to mate.

Blucaris

Deep in waters of southern hemisphere those derived ostracods hunt small arthropods with their long claws. Other ostracods are especially common on their menu.

Goat flea