This definitive source covers 83 marine planktonic ostracod species and is based on publications of the Linnean Society of London and the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association in England. The sea areas covered by this CD-ROM are the continental shelf around the British Isles and South Norway and the adjacent oceanic waters. Detailed drawings are given for each species, and, where available, unique full colour pictures. An illustrated interactive identification key allows the user to quickly identify those species which play an important role in indicating watermass and water quality. The entire text is hyperlinked: an illustrated glossary defines about 300 specific scientific terms. All principal literature references for this group are included in the program.