| Majoidea Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Macropodia rostrata (Inachidae) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Brachyura |
| Subsection: | Heterotremata |
| Superfamily: | Majoidea Samouelle, 1819 |
The Majoidea are a superfamily of crabs which includes the various spider crabs.
In "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families: [1]
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: [2]
Notable species within the superfamily include:
There is one fossil family, Priscinachidae, represented by a single species, Priscinachus elongatus , from the Cenomanian of France. [4]
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in freshwater, and on land. They are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton. They generally have five pairs of legs, and they have pincer claws on the ends of the frontmost pair. They first appeared during the Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago.
The Decapoda or decapods are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estimated to contain nearly 15,000 extant species in around 2,700 genera, with around 3,300 fossil species. Nearly half of these species are crabs, with the shrimp and Anomura including hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, squat lobsters making up the bulk of the remainder. The earliest fossils of the group date to the Devonian.
The Japanese spider crab is a species of marine crab and is the biggest one that lives in the waters around Japan. At around 3.7 meters, it has the largest leg-span of any arthropod. The Japanese name for this species is taka-ashi-gani,, literally translating to “tall legs crab”. It goes through three main larval stages along with a prezoeal stage to grow to its great size.
King crabs are decapod crustaceans of the family Lithodidae that are chiefly found in deep waters and are adapted to cold environments. They are composed of two subfamilies: Lithodinae, which tend to inhabit deep waters, are globally distributed, and comprise the majority of the family's species diversity; and Hapalogastrinae, which are endemic to the North Pacific and inhabit exclusively shallow waters. King crabs superficially resemble true crabs but are generally understood to be closest to the pagurid hermit crabs. This placement of king crabs among the hermit crabs is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs, making them a prominent example of carcinisation among decapods. Several species of king crabs, especially in Alaskan and southern South American waters, are targeted by commercial fisheries and have been subject to overfishing.
Macrocheira is a genus of crab in the superfamily Majoidea. It contains the Japanese spider crab as well as an extinct species, Macrocheira longirostra.
Hymenosomatidae is a family of crabs with some 110 described species in 24 genera. The following genera are placed in the Hymenosomatidae:
Majidae is a family of crabs, comprising around 200 marine species inside 52 genera, with a carapace that is longer than it is broad, and which forms a point at the front. The legs can be very long in some species, leading to the name "spider crab". The exoskeleton is covered with bristles to which the crab attaches algae and other items to act as camouflage.
Maja is a genus of majid crabs erected by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1801. It includes the following extant species:
Heterotremata is a clade of crabs, comprising those crabs in which the genital openings are on the sternum in females, but on the legs in males. It comprises 68 families in 28 superfamilies.
Goneplacoidea is a superfamily of crabs containing 11 extant families, and two families known only from fossils.
Actinotocarcinus is an extinct genus of Miocene crab, and is the only genus in the subfamily Actinotocarcininae of the family Epialtidae, though was originally classified in the family Majidae. Actinotocarcinus comprises two species, A. chidgeyi, and A. maclauchlani, both from Miocene-aged marine strata of New Zealand.
Inachidae is a family of crabs, containing 39 genera:
Epialtidae is a family of crabs, containing the subfamilies:
The Galatheoidea are a superfamily of decapod crustaceans comprising the porcelain crabs and some squat lobsters. Squat lobsters within the three families of the superfamily Chirostyloidea are not closely related to the squat lobsters within the Galatheoidea. The fossil record of the superfamily extends back to the Middle Jurassic genus Palaeomunidopsis.
Cyclograpsus is a genus of crabs, containing the following species:
Oregonia is a genus of crabs, comprising two extant species and one fossil species: It is classified in the family Oregoniidae under the spider crab superfamily Majoidea.
Around 65 species of crab occur in the waters of the British Isles. All are marine, with the exception of the introduced Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, which occurs in fresh and brackish water. They range in size from the deep-water species Paromola cuvieri, which can reach a claw span of 1.2 metres, to the pea crab, which is only 4 mm (0.16 in) wide and lives inside mussel shells.
Hyastenus is a genus of crabs in the family Epialtidae, subfamily Pisinae, containing the following extant species:
Pyromaia tuberculata is a species of crab in the family Inachoididae.
Libinia spinosa is a majoid crab found in mud and sand bottoms of the Southwestern Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is a generalist feeder on organisms such as algae, sponges, cnidarians, mollusks, polychaetes, crustaceans, and small fish. It commonly engages in a symbiotic relationship with the medusa Lychnorhiza lucerna.
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