The Grapsoidea are a
superfamily of
crabs; they are well known and contain many
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
which are terrestrial (land-living), semiterrestrial (taking to the sea only for reproduction), or limnic (living in
fresh water). Another well-known member with a more conventional lifestyle is the
Chinese mitten crab
The Chinese mitten crab ('; , "big sluice crab"), also known as the Shanghai hairy crab (, pinyin, p ''Shànghǎi máoxiè''), is a medium-sized burrowing crab that is named for its furry claws, which resemble mittens. It is native t ...
, ''Eriocheir sinensis''.
The delimitation of the
Grapsidae
The Grapsidae are a family of crabs known variously as marsh crabs, shore crabs, or talon crabs. The family has not been confirmed to form a monophyletic group and some taxa may belong in other families. They are found along the shore among rocks ...
and
Plagusiidae
The Plagusiidae are a family
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 ...
is in need of revision; the latter at least is not
monophyletic. The same apparently holds true for several
genera in the
Sesarmidae
The Sesarmidae are a family of crabs, previously included in the Grapsidae by many authors. Several species, namely in '' Geosesarma'', '' Metopaulias'', and '' Sesarma'', are true terrestrial crabs. They do not need to return to the sea even f ...
.
The closest living relatives of the Grapsoidea are the
Ocypodoidea
The Ocypodoidea, or ocypoid crabs, are a superfamily of crabs, named after the genus '' Ocypode''. It contains over 300 extant species in these eight families:
* Camptandriidae Stimpson, 1858
* Dotillidae Stimpson, 1858
* Heloeciidae H. Miln ...
. In fact, they seem to be
paraphyletic with respect to each other and it seems warranted to merge the Ocypodoidea into the Grapsoidea.
References
External links
*
Crabs
Arthropod superfamilies
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