Gigantocypris is a genus of
ostracod crustacean in family
Cypridinidae, and probably the most famous ostracod in the world. Its members are extremely large for ostracods, measuring up to across. The animals are orange–red in light, but live at
depths of , where there is no natural sunlight. Despite this, they are equipped with a pair of large eyes which, rather than using
lenses to focus light onto a
retina, use
parabolic mirrors a few millimetres across. It is thought that
Gigantocypris uses these eyes to find sources of
bioluminescence for it to
prey on, and it feeds upon
copepods and small fish.
