Members of the suborder Valvifera are marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 isopod

Isopoda

Isopods are an order of peracarid crustaceans, including familiar animals such as woodlice and pill bugs. The name Isopoda derives from the Greek roots and...

 crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s resembling woodlice. Valviferans are distinguished, however, by the flat, valve-like uropods which hinge laterally and fold inward beneath the rear part of the body, covering the pleopods. Some species are omnivorous

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...

, and serve as effective scavenger

Scavenger

Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...

s in the economy of the sea.

Eleven families

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 are recognised:

• Antarcturidae
• Arcturidae
• Arcturididae
• Austrarcturellidae
• Chaetiliidae
  Chaetiliidae
  Chaetiliidae is a family of isopod crustaceans in the suborder Valvifera, comprising the following genera:*Austrochaetilia Poore, 1978*Chaetilia Dana, 1849*Chiridotea Harger, 1878*Chiriscus Richardson, 1911*Glyptonotus Eights, 1852...
  
  
• Holidoteidae
• Holognathidae
• Idoteidae
  Idoteidae
  Idoteidae is a family of isopod crustaceans. It includes the following genera:*Austridotea Poore, 2001*Batedotea Poore & Lew Ton, 1993*Cleantiella Richardson, 1912*Colidotea Richardson, 1899*Crabyzos Bate, 1863...
  
  
• Pseudidotheidae
• Rectarcturidae
• Xenarcturidae