Suborder Valvifera - Valve-tailed Isopods

Valviferans

Author: Sars, 1882

600 species in 12 families worldwide; 92 species in 7 families in our area

Easily identified by the uropods being flattened and folded under the telson to form an operculum over the pleopods.

This group is split into two main groups, the Arcturoids and the Idoteoids (the latter which is not monophyletic), which are easily told apart by if the first segment is fused to the head (Arcturoids) or not (Idoteoids).(1) Most of the conspicous and showy species of Valviferans that people run across in North America are Idoteoids, while Arcturoids tend to be less conspicous or occur at deeper depths that aren't as accessible to most people

cosmopolitan, in North America occuring along all coasts and even major coastal freshwater waterways in the East

Families in North America:

ARCTUROIDS

Antarcturidae

Arcturidae

Austrarcturellidae

Thermoarcturidae

IDOTEOIDS

Chaetiliidae - one species in this family (Chiridotea coeca) is frequently found on the east coast along high-energy beaches

Holognathidae

Idoteidae - most species found will be in this family