Majoidea

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Majoidea
Temporal range: Cenomanian–Recent
Macropodia rostrata.jpg
Macropodia rostrata (Inachidae)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Subsection: Heterotremata
Superfamily: Majoidea
Samouelle, 1819

Majoidea, commonly called spider crabs, [1] is a superfamily of crabs.

Taxonomy

In "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families. [2] The classification has since been revised, with subfamilies Epialtinae and Mithracinae being elevated to families and Hymenosomatidae being moved to its own superfamily. The family composition according to the World Register of Marine Species is as follows: [3]

Notable species within the superfamily include:

There is one fossil family, Priscinachidae, represented by a single species, Priscinachus elongatus , from the Cenomanian of France. [5]

References

  1. "Spider Crabs". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  2. Sammy De Grave; N. Dean Pentcheff; Shane T. Ahyong; et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . Suppl. 21: 1–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  3. WoRMS. "Majoidea Samouelle, 1819". World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  4. Martha Holmes & Michael Gunton (2009). Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour. London: BBC Books. ISBN   9781846076428.
  5. Gérard Breton (1 September 2009). "Description of Priscinachus elongatus n. gen., n. sp., and Priscinachidae n. fam. for the earliest spider crab (Crustacea, Decapoda, Majoidea), from the French Cretaceous (Cenomanian)" (PDF). Geodiversitas (in French and English). 31 (3): 509–523. Bibcode:2009Geodv..31..509B. doi:10.5252/g2009n3a2. S2CID   85827715.