Shallow-water
Guides
Leptocheliidae
Leptocheliidae is a family of small, low-mobility crustaceans in the order Tanaidacea, comprising over 30 genera and 140 described species. Members are abundant in shallow marine waters and show high sensitivity to environmental shifts, particularly dissolved oxygen and temperature changes. Global diversity patterns reveal a bimodal latitudinal distribution with peaks in lower latitudes and decline at the equator, with biodiversity hotspots in the Indo-Australian region, Central Indo-Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. The family serves as an important indicator group for monitoring environmental change in threatened coastal habitats.