Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which form part of the decapod infraorder Anomura, alongside groups including the hermit crabs and mole crabs. They are distributed worldwide in the oceans, and occur from near the surface to deep sea hydrothermal vents, with one species occupying caves above sea level. More than 900 species have been described, in around 60 genera. Some species form dense aggregations, either on the sea floor or in the water column, and a small number are commercially fished.
The Galatheidae are a family of squat lobsters.
Galathea squamifera, the black squat lobster, or Montagu's plated lobster, is a species of squat lobster that lives in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Galathea is a genus of squat lobsters in the family Galatheidae. It is one of the largest genera of squat lobsters that in 2008 contained 70 species. Most species of Galathea live in shallow waters.
Munidopsis andamanica is a species of squat lobster that lives in the deep sea and eats dead wood. It has long chelipeds, which are twice as long as the carapace.
Munidopsis serricornis is a species of squat lobster. It is widely distributed in the world's oceans, being found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the western Atlantic Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific. It grows up to a carapace length of 20 millimetres (0.8 in).
Galathea intermedia is a species of squat lobster in the family Galatheidae. It is found in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, as far north as Troms, Norway, south to Dakar and the Mediterranean Sea.
Eumunida picta is a species of squat lobster found in the deep sea. The species is strongly associated with reefs of Lophelia pertusa, a deep-water coral, and with methane seeps. It is abundant in the western Atlantic Ocean, where it is found from Massachusetts to Colombia.
Allogalathea elegans is a species of squat lobster that is sometimes kept in marine aquariums. Despite their common name, they are more closely related to hermit crabs than lobsters.
Alainius crosnieri is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Galatheidae.
Allomunida magnicheles is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Galatheidae.
Anomoeomunida is a monotypic squat lobster genus in the family Munididae. The sole a species of is Anomoeomunida caribensis. It occurs in the western Atlantic.
Coralliogalathea is a genus of squat lobsters in the family Galatheidae. Initially thought to be monotypic, solely represented by Coralliogalathea humilis, recent analysis has split the genus into six, morphologically similar but genetically different species.
Heteronida is a genus of squat lobsters in the family Munididae. They occur in the western Pacific Ocean.
Janetogalathea californiensis is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Galatheidae.
Lauriea is a genus of squat lobsters in the family Galatheidae, containing the following species:
Neonida grandis is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Munididae.
Plesionida is a genus of squat lobsters in the family Munididae. As of 2017, it contains the following species:
Setanida cristata is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Munididae.
Shinkaia crosnieri is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Munidopsidae. S. crosnieri lives in deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems, living off of the chemosynthetic activity of certain bacteria living on its setae.
