Xylopaguridae are a family of hermit crabs of the order Decapoda.[2][3] It was erected in 2016 to accommodate one new genus, Prexylopagurus, and three existing genera that had previously been placed in Paguridae. They occur in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.[1]
Some sources do not recognize Xylopaguridae and list the species and genera that were transferred to it under their original family, Paguridae.[4]
Evolution
The oldest record of the family is Paguritergites yvonnecooleae,[1] the only known species of its genus,[5] from the upper Albian (mid-Cretaceous) of northwest Spain.[1] The family appears to have evolved in the Tethys Ocean.[1]
Description and ecology
Xylopagurids have an elongated, subcylindrical carapace. They are adapted to live in cavities such as hollow pieces of bamboo and driftwood, or in empty polychaete tubes.[1] Unlike typical hermit crabs, they inhabit open-ended cavities which they enter head-first. The posterior opening of the cavity is blocked by a strongly calcified portion of the abdomen, whereas a massive, strongly armed right cheliped protects the anterior opening.[6]
Xylopagurids occur from shallow waters to depths of several hundreds of meters, the record being Prexylopagurus caledonicus dredged from a depth of 591 metres.[1]
Genera
There are four genera, two of which are extant:[2]
†Lessinipagurus Beschin, De Angeli, Checchi & Zarantonello, 2012
†Paguritergites Fraaije, Artal, Van Bakel, Jagt & Klompmaker, 2013
Prexylopagurus Gašparič, Fraaije, Robin & de Angeli, 2016
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