Mitochondrial genomes of polar halocyprid ostracods
This project generates and releases mitochondrial genome and cox1 resources for five species of halocyprid ostracods from polar marine environments: Boroecia maxima, B. borealis, B. antipoda, Discoconchoecia elegans, and Orthoconchoecia obtusata. Species in the Halocyprididae family contribute significantly to mesopelagic zooplankton communities but remain poorly represented in genomic databases. By sequencing specimens collected from both the Arctic and Southern Ocean, this project provides new resources that can support taxonomic studies, molecular phylogenetics, and research into the drivers of biogeographic distributions. These data expand current genomic coverage for an ecologically important but understudied group from extreme ocean ecosystems, enabling improved comparisons of mitochondrial architecture, gene order, and diversity across polar lineages.