The five species of Cyprididae collected from anchialine habitats of the Galapagos Islands includeParacypris crispa,previously described from marine caves and reefs on Bermuda, and the freshwater speciesStrandesia stocki,which is widely distributed in wells of the West Indies. Three new species,Dolerocypria ensigera, Mungava rectaandHansacypris galapagosensis,contribute to more precise understanding of these circumtropical genera. A review of known soft‐anatomical characters for 68 species of Paracypridinae, five of which are transferred to different genera, reveals too many inconsistencies for a simple hypothesis. The current classification of Paracypridinae into three tribes and 18 genera may be overly subdivided, and elevation of Paracypridinae to family rank is not warrante