Suborder Sphaeromatidea - Seapills and allies

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Range · Remarks · Internet References

orange county marine isopod #4 - Exosphaeroma inornata

Cassidinidea Ovalis - Cassidinidea ovalis

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Crustacea (Crustaceans)

Class Malacostraca (Malacostracans)

Superorder Peracarida (Marsupial Crustaceans)

Order Isopoda (Isopods)

No Taxon (Scutocoxifera)

Suborder Sphaeromatidea (Seapills and allies)

Explanation of Names

Sphaeromatidea Wägele, 1989

Numbers

over 800 species worldwide; about 60 species in 4 families in North America

Range

Predominately southern, with a few species reaching up into the Northern Hemisphere. The northernmost species, Tecticeps marginalis (Sphaeromatoidea:Tecticeptidae), reaches into the Chukchi Sea off of Alaska. On the east coast, species aren't known further north than New England

Remarks

This suborder is split into 2 superfamilies:

-Seroloidea, which contains a large number of odd, pancake-shaped isopods almost entirely found in the southern oceans. Only 4 species reach our area: two shallow water species in Heteroserolis (one each in CA and the southeastern US) and two abyssal species in Atlantoserolis (both off the eastern US)

-Sphaeromatidea, aka the Seapills, contains a large number of conglobulating isopods also predominately found in southern oceans. Unlike Seroloidea, Sphaeromatoideans are also found in decent numbers in northern waters, with about 56 species in BugGuide's area

Internet References

WoRMS

Contributed by Aaron Hunt on 12 September, 2015 - 5:35pm
Additional contributions by Astrobirder
Last updated 4 October, 2021 - 2:27pm

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