Danielopolina is a genus of minute, half millimetre long, seed shrimps (Ostracoda) comprising thirteen species with an mysterious distribution.
Danielopolina baltanasi is known from three anchialine caves (caves affected by marine tides, but lack surface connections with the sea) on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, the only occurrence of this group of ostracods appears on isolated seamounts. This occurrence challenges the hypothesis that this group spread along the shores of the ancient Tethys Ocean (this existed when the ancient super-continent Gondwana began to separate from Pangaea).
All but two species inhabit anchialine caves that occur on or near continents from the Caribbean, Canary Islands and Australia. One species inhabits the deep ocean (abyssal) off Brazil.
Surprisingly, Danielopolina baltanasi is not closely related to the other Australian Species, Danielopolina kornickeri that occurs in a cave in Cape Range on the Ningaloo Reef coast, neither is it closely related to the deep sea species.