Family Idoteidae

There are currently 23 genera of idoteid isopods and around 200 species. I first came across them as a major component in the diet of the New Zealand shortfinned eel while I was doing my doctorate thesis. I was fascinated by these creatures and sampled them as a separate side project. Thanks to my colleagues Lindsay Chadderton and Mike Winterbourn I was able to incorporate my data in a paper published by the three of us. You can access that paper here.

Austridotea annectens - Freshwater isopod