Dromiacea is a group of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s, ranked as a

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

. It contains 240 extant and nearly 300 extinct species. Dromiacea is the most basal grouping of Brachyura crabs, diverging the earliest in the evolutionary history, around the

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...

Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma&nb ...

. Below is a

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

showing Dromiacea's placement within Brachyura: The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of Dromiacea resemble those of the

Anomura Anomura (sometimes Anomala) is a group of decapod crustaceans, including hermit crabs and others. Although the names of many anomurans include the word ''crab'', all true crabs are in the sister group to the Anomura, the Brachyura (the two grou ...

more closely than those of other

s. This may simply reflect their basal position in the crab

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological sp ...

. The superfamily

Eocarcinoidea Eocarcinoidea is a superfamily of fossil decapod crustaceans. Formerly thought to be the earliest true crabs, they are now thought to be the oldest members of the Anomura Anomura (sometimes Anomala) is a group of decapod crustaceans, includ ...

, containing '' Eocarcinus'' and '' Platykotta'', was previously considered to be a member of the Dromiacea, but has since been transferred to the

. The

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

of Dromiacea reaches back at least as far as the Jurassic, and, if '' Imocaris'' is indeed a member, into the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonif ...

. Dromiacea primarily consists of two groups of superfamilies - Dromioidea and Homoloidea. See the below

: Recent studies have found that some of the

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

may not be

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic grou ...

, but rather

paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

. *The Dromioidea family Dromiidae may be paraphyletic with respect to Dynomenidae *The Homoloidea family Homolidae is paraphyletic with respect to Latreilliidae

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2441028 Crabs Extant Jurassic first appearances Taxa named by Wilhem de Haan