Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

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Calendar

Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Suborder Sphaeromatidea - Seapills and allies

Representative Images

Isopod - Gnorimosphaeroma Isopod - Gnorimosphaeroma Beautiful Cute Isopod Sand Isopods - Exosphaeroma inornata Isopoda - Exosphaeroma inornata Isopoda - Exosphaeroma inornata Isopoda - Exosphaeroma inornata Gnorimosphaeroma noblei

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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