Illustrated catalogue of sphaeromatoid isopods (Crustacea, Malacostraca) in the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN)

Abstract

Zoological collections are major treasures representing the history of animal biodiversity on Earth and are an important resource for biodiversity and conservation research. The Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN) has one of the oldest crustacean collections in North America. Here, we provide an illustrated catalogue of the superfamily Sphaeromatoidea Latreille, 1825, deposited in the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Crustacea Collection (CMNC). In this paper, we report 18 species, belonging to 3 families and 14 genera. The majority of species belong to the family Sphaeromatidae with 16 species, followed by the Ancinidae and the Tecticipitidae each with one species. We present a bibliography of the original description, current taxonomic status, the type locality, geographic distribution, and an updated illustration for all species.