Decapod

For other uses, see Decapod (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Decapodiformes.

Decapoda
Temporal range: Devonian–recent
From left to right: Grapsus grapsus (Brachyura), Coconut crab (Anomura), Lysmata amboinensis (Caridea), Homarus gammarus (Astacidea).
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Superorder: Eucarida
Order: Decapoda
Latreille, 1802
Suborders

Dendrobranchiata
Pleocyemata
See text for superfamilies.

The Decapoda or decapods (lit. 'ten-footed') are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estimated to contain nearly 15,000 extant species in around 2,700 genera, with around 3,300 fossil species.[1] Nearly half of these species are crabs, with the shrimp (about 3,000 species) and Anomura including hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, squat lobsters (about 2500 species) making up the bulk of the remainder.[1] The earliest fossils of the group date to the Devonian.

  1. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.