Varunidae

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Varunidae
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Chasmagnathus convexus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Superfamily: Grapsoidea
Family: Varunidae
H. Milne-Edwards, 1853
Subfamilies  [1]

The Varunidae are a family of thoracotrematan crabs. The delimitation of this family, part of the taxonomically confusing Grapsoidea, is undergoing revision. For a long time, they were placed at the rank of subfamily in the Grapsidae, but they appear to be closest to Macropthalmus and the Mictyridae, which are usually placed in the Ocypodoidea. It may thus be better to merge the latter superfamily with the Grapsoidea, retaining the latter name as it is older. [2]

That notwithstanding, the revision of the Grapsoidea (in the narrow but apparently still paraphyletic sense) is also not fully completed, as many taxa remain to be restudied. Already, several former Grapsidae genera have been moved to the Varunidae, and others are tentatively placed here pending detailed study. Among the most noteworthy of these is the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. [2] The genus Xenograpsus , formerly included in the Varunidae, is now placed in its own family, the Xenograpsidae. [1]

The following genera are included: [3]

Asthenognathinae Stimpson, 1858
Cyclograpsinae H. Milne-Edwards, 1853
Gaeticinae Davie & N. K. Ng, 2007
Thalassograpsinae Davie & N. K. Ng, 2007
Varuninae H. Milne-Edwards, 1853

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References

  1. 1 2 Peter K. L. Ng; Danièle Guinot & Peter J. F. Davie (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 17: 1–286.
  2. 1 2 Christoph D. Schubart; S. Cannicci; M. Vannini & S. Fratini (2006). "Molecular phylogeny of grapsoid crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura) and allies based on two mitochondrial genes and a proposal for refraining from current superfamily classification". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research . 44 (3): 193–199. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0469.2006.00354.x.
  3. ↑ 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.
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