Phreatocoid Isopods

Code OR029999

Elongate isopods belonging to the suborder Phreatoicidea: with a six-segmented pleon (5 visible abdominal segments plus the telson) and uropods that assist in movement by flicking or pushing the animal forward. In life the body is curled downward as in a typical amphipod. The lateral lobes of the telson form a pair of vertical plates and the central part forms an upturned lobe (in the otherwise similar Amphisopidae the telson is either rounded, emarginate, or cleft). The uropods are moderately long and ventral. Epigeic in habit.

Horwitz et al. (1995) treat Mesamphisopidae as a separate family. Wilson (1999) classifies it within the family Amphisopidae (as Amphisopodidae).

References:

Horwitz, P., Knott, B. and Williams, W.D. (1995) A Preliminary Key to the Malacostracan Families (Crustacea) found in Australian Inland Waters . Co-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology Identification Guide No. 4., Albury, NSW.

Williams, W.D. (1980) Australian Freshwater Life: The Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters. The Macmillan Company of Australia, Melbourne.

Wilson, G. D. ('Buz'). 1999. Preliminary phylogeny of the Phreatoicidea. Webpage at