Evolution and biogeography of the family Eubelidae (Crustacea, Oniscidea)

The characters and composition of the family Eubelidae are discussed. At present the family includes 39 genera and 216 species. Six genera previously ascribed to this family have been removed, viz. Toradjia, Adinda, Protoradjia, Ankaritridium, Ambounia and Suarezia. The family is distributed in the tropical part of Africa, where it originated, the Arabian Peninsula, Mesopotamia and the Oriental Region. The Eubelidae are considered to be a monophyletic unit and a cladogram of the family is proposed. The eubelids have colonized different biomes, from mountain to lowland primary and secondary forests, savannahs and subdeserts.