INTRODUCTION 



ARRANGEMENT OF THE GUIDE AND HOW TO USE IT 



A short introduction to the Crustacea Isopoda is provided, followed by a 

 glossary of descriptive terms and morphological features used throughout the 

 guide (see Figure 2). 



Keys and diagnoses to the suborders and all lower taxa follow. For ease of 

 usage, except in the keys, all taxa are presented in alphabetical order, regard- 

 less of their phylogenetic relationships. 



Diagnoses are provided for all suborders, families, genera, and species. 

 The only exceptions to this are in the suborders Epicaridea and Oniscidea. 

 Within each suborder, a key to the families occurring in the Caribbean is 

 provided. Similarly, within each family and genus, keys are provided to the 

 relevant genera and species, respectively. 



In whatever context, where an author and date appear, a reference to these 

 is provided in the Literature Cited section. In some cases, reference is made 

 to useful publications such as revisions of families or genera. 



As this is not a textbook on the Isopoda, biological information is generally 

 kept to a minimum. In the case of individual species, however, what Httle 

 ecological information is available, is provided. For general texts on biology, 

 internal anatomy, physiology, and reproduction, the reader is referred to 

 works such as Kaestner (1967), Waterman (1960), Bliss (1982-1985), and 

 Schram (1986). 



Within each species discussion, a diagnosis is given, along with maximum 

 (total) middorsal lengths for males and females, where known. The diag- 

 noses are not exhaustive, but provide only the information need'ed to distin- 

 guish the species. Diagnoses thus vary in length from the statement of a 

 single feature to a paragraph concerning several features, depending on the 

 understanding and complexity of the taxonomy of the group. In the longer 

 diagnoses, morphological features are dealt with in order from anterior to 

 posterior on the animal's body. Records are given, rather than geographical 

 distribution, as our knowledge of many species is woefully incomplete. These 

 records are given in a roughly north-to-south order; records outside of the 

 Caribbean region, as here defined, are given on a separate line. A few species 

 not yet recorded from the Caribbean are included, in the strong likelihood 

 that they will eventually be found here. The records include depth distribu- 

 tion information in meters, where known. Records were taken from pub- 

 lished papers; in addition, the collections of the United States National 

 Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, were scoured, and 

 many unpublished records from this source are also included. In the "Re- 

 marks" section, ecological information such as substrate preferences is given. 

 Hosts of parasitic species are given. Formal synonymies are not provided. 



