Phreatoicidea
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| Phreatoicidea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Eophreatoicus, a freshwater isopod from Kakadu National Park, Australia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Isopoda |
| Suborder: | Phreatoicidea Stebbing, 1893 [1] |
Phreatoicidea is a suborder of isopod crustaceans. Extant species are confined to freshwater environments in South Africa, India, and Oceania.[2] This seemingly Gondwana-derived distribution belies the fact that the group once had a cosmopolitan distribution; fossils which can be assigned to the Phreatoicidea are the oldest isopod fossils, and are found throughout the world.[3][4] In the intervening 325 million years, phreatoicideans have changed little, and are thus considered living fossils.[5]
The first Australian phreatoicidean was described by Charles Chilton in 1891.[5] Two families are represented in Australia: Amphisopodidae in the interior of Australia, and in the west, and Phreatoicidae in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.[6]
The suborder contains the following families:[7]
- Amphisopodidae Nicholls, 1943
- Hypsimetopidae Nicholls, 1943
- Mesamphisopidae Nicholls, 1943
- † Palaeophreatoicidae Birstein, 1962
- Phreatoicidae Chilton, 1891
- Phreatoicopsidae Nicholls, 1943
- Ponderellidae Wilson & Keable, 2004
