Background: Classification of parasitic bopyrids has traditionally been based on morphological characteristics, but phylogenetic relationships have remained elusive due to limited information provided by morphological data and tendency for loss of morphological

Background Classification of parasitic bopyrids has traditionally been based on morphological characteristics, but phylogenetic relationships have remained elusive due to limited information provided by morphological data and tendency for loss of morphological

Bopyridae Rafinesque, 1815 is a parasitic family of isopod crustaceans, with 10 subfamilies, 208 genera and 634 species (Boyko et al., 2008 onwards) [1]. Bopyrids stunt the growth and reduce the reproductive abilities of their hosts [2]. Molecular phylogenetic