Porcelain crabs are decapod crustaceans in the widespread family Porcellanidae, which superficially resemble true crabs. They have flattened bodies as an adaptation for living in rock crevices. They are delicate, readily losing limbs when attacked, and use their large claws for maintaining territories. They first appeared in the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic epoch, 145–152 million years ago.
Atyidae is a family of shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water. This is the only family in the superfamily Atyoidea.
Petrolisthes is a genus of marine porcelain crabs, containing these extant species:
Pagurus is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Paguridae. Like other hermit crabs, their abdomen is not calcified and they use snail shells as protection. These marine decapod crustaceans are omnivorous, but mostly prey on small animals and scavenge carrion. Trigonocheirus and Pagurixus used to be considered subgenera of Pagurus, but the former is nowadays included in Orthopagurus, while the latter has been separated as a distinct genus.
Parapinnixa affinis, the California Bay pea crab, is a species of pinnotherid crab endemic to Southern California. It is a small crab that lives commensally in the tube of a tube-dwelling worm. It was one of the first marine crustaceans to be included on the IUCN Red List in 1996.
Potamonautes is a genus of African freshwater crabs in the family Potamonautidae. It is both the most widespread and most diverse genus of African freshwater crabs, including more than half the species of this continent. They are found in most freshwater habitats of the African mainland and some species are semi-terrestrial.
Hexapus is a genus of crabs in the family Hexapodidae. It contains only three extant species found in the Indo-West Pacific. They inhabit the intertidal and subtidal areas of shorelines.
Porcellana platycheles, the broad-clawed porcelain crab, is a species of porcelain crab from the family Porcellanidae. It is found on the coasts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea
Paguristes is a genus of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It includes the following species :
Pisidia longicornis, the long-clawed porcelain crab, is a species of porcelain crab that lives in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. It varies from reddish to white, and grows to a carapace width of 1 cm (0.4 in). It was first named by Carl Linnaeus in 1767, although the etymology remains unclear.
Pisidia is a genus of marine porcelain crabs, comprising the following species:
Johngarthia lagostoma is a species of terrestrial crab that lives on Ascension Island and three other islands in the South Atlantic. It grows to a carapace width of 110 mm (4.3 in) on Ascension Island, where it is the largest native land animal. It exists in two distinct colour morphs, one yellow and one purple, with few intermediates. The yellow morph dominates on Ascension Island, while the purple morph is more frequent on Rocas Atoll. The species differs from other Johngarthia species by the form of the third maxilliped.
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.
Medaeus is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:
Edwardsium is a genus of crabs in the family Xanthidae, containing the following species:
Allopetrolisthes spinifrons is a species of porcelain crab. It displays "hypercarcinisation", whereby the resemblance to a true crab is enhanced by sexual dimorphism of the abdomen. It lives along the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile, as a symbiont of a sea anemone.
Porcellana sayana is a species of porcelain crab that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean, often as a commensal of hermit crabs. It is red with white spots, and has a characteristic bulge behind each claw.
Polyonyx is a genus of porcelain crabs in the family Porcellanidae. There are at least 42 described species in Polyonyx.
Pachycheles is a genus of porcelain crabs in the family Porcellanidae. There are more than 40 described species in Pachycheles.
Dissodactylus is a genus of pea crabs in the family Pinnotheridae. There are at least 20 described species in Dissodactylus.
