Cyprideis torosa (Crustacea, Ostracoda), which is well known for its ability to live in a wide range of salinity and for the variability of its ornamentation, was sampled in the paralic environment. in the Camargue (France) and in the area of Santa-Pola (south-east Spain), in ambient waters whose salinity varies from 1 to 120 g/l. The collected valves. which are smooth, punctuated, reticulated or have nodes on their surface, were analyzed by means of spark-source mass spectrometry. We detected twenty-six chemical elements, and found a clear relationship between the chemical composition, the ornamentation of the valves and the environmental parameters. In the oligohaline environment, the carapaces are thick, reticulated or node-bearing ; they are enriched... |