Dromiacea

Dromiidae is a family of crabs, often referred to as sponge crabs. They are small or medium-sized crabs which get their name from the ability to shape a living sponge into a portable shelter for themselves. A sponge crab cuts out a fragment from a sponge and trims it to its own shape using its claws. The last two pairs of legs are shorter than other legs and bend upward over the crab's carapace, to hold the sponge in place. The sponge grows along with the crab, providing a consistent shelter.

Homoloidea is a superfamily of dromiacean crabs. Homoloidea belongs the group Dromiacea, taxonomically ranked as a section, and is the sister group to Dromioidea. Dromiacea is the most basal grouping of Brachyura crabs, and likely diverged from the rest of Brachyura around the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic. The close relation between Homoloidea and Dromioidea is primarily established through ultrastructural characteristics of the sperm.

Dromioidea is a superfamily of crabs mostly found in Madagascar. Dromioidea belongs to the group Dromiacea, taxonomically ranked as a section, which is the most basal grouping of Brachyura crabs. Dromiacea likely diverged from the rest of Brachyura around the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic, and the earliest fossils attributable to the Dromioidea date from the Late Jurassic.

Homolodromiidae is a family of crabs, the only family in the superfamily Homolodromioidea. In contrast to other crabs, including the closely related Homolidae, there is no strong linea homolica along which the exoskeleton breaks open during ecdysis. The family comprises two genera, Dicranodromia, which has 18 species, and Homolodromia, with five species.

crab species

Dromia is a genus of crabs in the family Dromiidae. It contains the following species:

Latreilliidae is a small family of crabs. They are relatively small, long-legged crabs found on soft bottoms at depths of up in mostly tropical and subtemperate waters around the world. Their carapace is very small and doesn’t cover the bases of their legs, which protrude from the cephalothorax in a spider-like manner. The family and its type genus are named after Pierre André Latreille. The oldest known fossils from the Latreillidae have been dated to the middle of the Cretaceous period. It comprises seven extant species.

The family Homolidae, known as carrier crabs or porter crabs, contains 14 genera of marine crabs. They mostly live on the continental slope and continental shelf, and are rarely encountered. Members of the Homolidae have their fifth pereiopods (last pair of walking legs) in a sub-dorsal position, which allows them to hold objects in place over the rear half of the carapace. The objects carried include sponges, black corals and gorgonians, and this behaviour may be a defence mechanism against predators. Some species have been observed carrying living sea urchins in a symbiotic relationship whic

Dynomenidae is a family of crabs in the superfamily Dromioidea mostly found in Madagascar. There are nineteen genera in this family: five extant and fourteen known from fossils:

species of crustacean

Dromiacea is a group of crabs, ranked as a section. It contains 240 extant and nearly 300 extinct species. Dromiacea is the most basal grouping of Brachyura crabs, diverging the earliest in the evolutionary history, around the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic. Below is a cladogram showing Dromiacea's placement within Brachyura:

species of crustacean

Latreillia is a genus of crabs in the family Latreilliidae, comprising five species:

Dakoticancroidea is a superfamily of fossil crabs divided into the following two families:

species of crustacean

Hirsutodynomene is a genus of crabs in the family Dynomenidae. All species in this genus except the newest one belonged to the genus Dynomene. These two genera form the subfamilia Dynomeninae. The type species of this genus is: Dynomene spinosa Rathbun, 1911.

species of crustacean

species of crustacean

Lauridromia is a genus of crabs in the family Dromiidae. It contains only two species. At one time a third species, Lauridromia indica, was included in the genus but that has now been transferred to the genus Dromidiopsis as Dromidiopsis indica (Gray, 1831).

species of crustacean

Epigodromia is a genus of crabs within the family Dromiidae, that first appeared during the Holocene epoch.

Paromola is a genus of crabs within the family Homolidae. Members of the Homolidae genus have their fifth pereiopods (last pair of walking legs) in a sub-dorsal position, which allows them to hold objects, such as sponges, black corals and gorgonians, over the rear half of the carapace, in a possible defence mechanism against predators.

Lamarckdromia is a genus of crabs within the family Dromiidae, containing 3 species. The most recent species described, Lamarckdromia beagle, was discovered in Australia after being washed onto a beach in 2022. Its species name beagle is in recognition of Charles Darwin’s ship HMS Beagle.

species of crustacean

Pseudodromia is a genus of crabs in the family Dromiidae, often referred to as sponge crabs. They are small or medium-sized crabs which get their name from the ability to shape a living sponge into a portable shelter for themselves. A sponge crab cuts out a fragment from a sponge and trims it to its own shape using its claws. The last two pairs of legs are shorter than other legs and bend upward over the crab's carapace, to hold the sponge in place. The sponge grows along with the crab, providing a consistent shelter.

Austrodromidia is a genus of crabs within the family Dromiidae. There are currently 5 species designated to the genus, with the type species being Austrodromidia australis.

Fultodromia is a genus of crabs within the family Dromiidae, with 2 species currently assigned to the genus.

Moreiradromia is a genus of sponge crabs in the family Dromiidae.