Why Sphaeromatid Isopods?
Sphaeromatid isopods are ideal for addressing life history, ecology, biogeography, and phylogenetic hypotheses, because: • they exhibit extreme morphological diversity; • they are readily collectable in many habitats; • some genera are speciose, while others are monotypic; and • described genera include biogeographically widespread as well as endemic species. However, many (perhaps most) of the large genera are of doubtful monophyly. The Sphaeromatidae is one of the three largest isopod families, all of which are in the suborder Flabellifera (the others being Cirolanidae and Cymothoidae). Sphaeromatids occur worldwide and are most abundant in marine communities to 1400 m, and are occasionally present in permanent freshwater habitats. They inhabit rocky shores, sandy beaches, coral reefs, coastal rivers, and thermal springs, as well as, algae, sponges, tunicates, and mangroves. They are most diverse in warm-temperate, southern hemisphere shallow (intertidal to 200 m depth) marine habita
