Majoidea, commonly called spider crabs,
Taxonomy
In "
A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families.
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:
Notable species within the superfamily include:
-
Japanese spider crab ( Macrocheira kaempferi), the largest living species of crab, found on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
-
Libinia emarginata, the portly spider crab, a species of crab found in estuarine habitats on the east coast of North America.
-
Hyas, a genus of spider crabs, including the great spider crab ( Hyas araneus), found in the Atlantic and the North Sea.
-
Maja squinado, sometimes called the "European long leg crab or pie faced crab" because of the way its face is shaped.
-
Australian majid spider crab, found off Tasmania, are known to pile up on each other, the faster-moving crabs clambering over the smaller, slower ones.
[Martha Holmes & Michael Gunton (2009). Life: Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour. London: BBC Books. .]
There is one fossil family, Priscinachidae, represented by a single species,
Priscinachus elongatus, from the
Cenomanian of France.
Image:Candy crab.jpg| Hoplophrys oatesi, an Epialtidae
Image:Limnopilos naiyanetri - (4).jpg| Limnopilos naiyanetri, a Hymenosomatidae
Image:Macrocheira kaempferi.jpg| Macrocheira kaempferi, an Inachidae
Image:Pyromaia cuspidata.jpg| Pyromaia cuspidata, an Inachoididae
Image:Maja squinado.jpg| Maja squinado, a Majidae
Image:Hyas coarctatus.jpg| Hyas coarctatus, an Oregoniidae
