Prof. Dr. Okan KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU, a faculty member in our Department of Biology’s Hydrobiology Division, has made a remarkable scientific discovery in the state of Texas, USA. He, alongside researchers from Texas State University, Benjamin F. Schwartz and Benjamin T. Hutchins, identified 7 new genera and 7 new species of ostracods (microscopic, shelled invertebrates) living in freshwater.

Over the course of a year, the research team collected water samples from spring sources in the San Marcos region. These samples led to the identification of the new genera and species, all of which are smaller than 1 millimeter in size.

Prof. Dr. KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU explained that the research was conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Edwards Aquifer Research and Information Center, where they sampled from an underground artesian well that has been protected for nearly 250 years. His work has been published in international journals, and he anticipates publishing additional findings from the same region soon.

KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU also shared that freshwater ostracods, which have existed for around 500 million years, are found in various environments. In Turkey alone, there are approximately 160 species, though the total number is likely higher. He emphasized that the new species he discovered have adapted to underground environments, where many lack eyes, have elongated bodies, and have evolved to have longer legs instead of swimming setae.

In his research, Prof. Dr. KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU and his team identified one of the most evolved freshwater ostracod species, which could offer valuable insights for environmental and industrial applications such as petroleum exploration, where these organisms could be used as indicators for environmental conditions.

We proudly congratulate Prof. Dr. Okan KÜLKÖYLÜOĞLU and his team for this outstanding achievement in the field of scientific discovery and wish them continued success in their future research.