A brief discussion of benthic amphipods, isopods, and decapods deals with the distribution of the Atlantic, Indo-Pacific, and endemic components of each group around the southern African coastline. This distribution is related to faunal provinces of the area. It is concluded that for the two peracaridan groups, the South Coast Warm Temperate province was an evolutionary centre. Although there is a considerable number of endemic species in the decapods, recruitment from the Indo-Pacific accounts for the major component of this group.