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 Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus
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Syncarida |
The Eumalacostraca (Greek: "true soft shell") are a subclass of crustaceans, containing almost all living malacostracans, about 22,000 described species. (The outgroups are the Phyllocarida and possibly the Hoplocarida or mantis shrimps.)
Eumalacostracans have 19 segments (5 cephalic, 8 thoracic, 6 abdominal). The thoracic limbs are jointed and used for swimming or walking. The common ancestor is thought to have had a carapace, and most living species possess one, but it has been lost in some subgroups.
Classification
Martin and Davis 1 present the following classification of living eumalacostracans into orders, to which extinct orders have been added, indicated by †.
The group as originally described by Karl Grobben 2 included the Stomatopoda (mantis shrimp), and some modern experts continue to use this definition. Here we follow Martin and Davis in excluding them; they are placed in their own subclass, Hoplocarida.
Subclass Eumalacostraca Grobben, 1892
- Superorder Syncarida Packard, 1885
- †Order Palaeocaridacea
- Order Bathynellacea Chappuis, 1915
- Order Anaspidacea Calman, 1904 (including Stygocaridacea)
- Superorder Peracarida Calman, 1904
- Order Spelaeogriphacea Gordon, 1957
- Order Thermosbaenacea Monod, 1927
- Order Lophogastrida Sars, 1870
- Order Mysida Haworth, 1825
- Order Mictacea Bowman, Garner, Hessler, Iliffe & Sanders, 1985
- Order Amphipoda Latreille, 1816
- Order Isopoda Latreille, 1817 (pillbugs, sowbugs, woodlice)
- Order Tanaidacea Dana, 1849
- Order Cumacea Krøyer, 1846
- Superorder Eucarida Calman, 1904
- Order Euphausiacea Dana, 1852
- Order Amphionidacea Williamson, 1973
- Order Decapoda Latreille, 1802 (crabs, lobsters, shrimp)
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Eumalacostraca |
- ^ J. W. Martin & G. E. Davis (2001). An Updated Classification of the Recent Crustacea. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. http://www.nhm.org/research/publications/CrustaceaClassification.pdf.
- ^ C. Grobben (1892). "Zur Kenntnis des Stammbaumes und des Systems der Crustaceen". Sitzber. K. Akad. Wiss., Vienna, Math. Nat. Cl. 101: 237–274.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 2 January 2009, at 18:30.
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