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The decapods or Decapoda (literally means "ten footed") are an order of crustacean
Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s within the class Malacostraca
Malacostraca

The Malacostraca are the largest class of crustaceans and include most of the animals that non-experts recognize as crustaceans, including Decapoda , stomatopods and euphausiids ....
, including many familiar groups, such as crayfish
Crayfish

Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter ag...
, crab
Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
s, lobster
Lobster

Clawed lobsters compose a family of large marine crustaceans. Lobsters are economically important as seafood, forming the basis of a global industry that nets United States dollar1.8 billion in trade annually....
s, prawn
Prawn

Prawns are crustaceans, belonging to the suborder Dendrobranchiata . They are similar in appearance to shrimp, but can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns , but is Lamella r in shrimp....
s and shrimp
Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
. Most decapods are scavengers.

heir name implies, all decapods have ten legs; these are the last five of the eight pairs of thoracic appendage
Appendage

An appendage in the broadest sense is an additional or subsidiary part existing on, or added to, something which can generally still function if the appendage has never existed or is later provided or grown, or will still perform a primary function if the appendage is removed....
s characteristic of crustaceans. The front three pairs function as mouthparts and are generally referred to as maxillipeds, the remainder being pereiopods.






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The decapods or Decapoda (literally means "ten footed") are an order of crustacean
Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s within the class Malacostraca
Malacostraca

The Malacostraca are the largest class of crustaceans and include most of the animals that non-experts recognize as crustaceans, including Decapoda , stomatopods and euphausiids ....
, including many familiar groups, such as crayfish
Crayfish

Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter ag...
, crab
Crab

Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
s, lobster
Lobster

Clawed lobsters compose a family of large marine crustaceans. Lobsters are economically important as seafood, forming the basis of a global industry that nets United States dollar1.8 billion in trade annually....
s, prawn
Prawn

Prawns are crustaceans, belonging to the suborder Dendrobranchiata . They are similar in appearance to shrimp, but can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns , but is Lamella r in shrimp....
s and shrimp
Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
. Most decapods are scavengers.

Anatomy

As their name implies, all decapods have ten legs; these are the last five of the eight pairs of thoracic appendage
Appendage

An appendage in the broadest sense is an additional or subsidiary part existing on, or added to, something which can generally still function if the appendage has never existed or is later provided or grown, or will still perform a primary function if the appendage is removed....
s characteristic of crustaceans. The front three pairs function as mouthparts and are generally referred to as maxillipeds, the remainder being pereiopods. In many decapods, however, one pair of legs has enlarged pincers; the claw
Claw

A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end of the leg or Arthropod leg for gripping a surface as the creature walks....
s are called chelae, so those legs may be called chelipeds. Further appendages are found on the abdomen, with each segment capable of carrying a pair of biramous pleopods, the last of which form part of the tail fan (together with the telson
Telson

The telson is the last division of the body of a crustacean. It is not considered a true segment because it does not arise in the embryo from teloblast areas as do real segments....
) and are called uropods.

Classification

Classification within the order Decapoda depends on the structure of the gills and legs, and the way in which the larvae
Larvae

In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spirits of the dead; they were the malignant version of the lares. Some Roman writers describe lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead, and divide them into two classes: the lares, or the benevolent souls of the family, which haunted and guard...
 develop, giving rise to two suborders: Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata
Pleocyemata

Pleocyemata is a sub-order of Decapoda Crustacean, erected by Martin Burkenroad in 1963 . Burkenroad's classification replaced the earlier sub-orders of Natantia and Reptantia with the monophyletic groups Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata....
. Dendrobranchiata consists of prawn
Prawn

Prawns are crustaceans, belonging to the suborder Dendrobranchiata . They are similar in appearance to shrimp, but can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns , but is Lamella r in shrimp....
s, including many species colloquially referred to as "shrimp", such as the Atlantic white shrimp
Atlantic white shrimp

Atlantic white shrimp , also known as white shrimp or green tails is a species of prawn , found on the eastern seaboard of North America....
. Pleocyemata includes the remaining groups, including true shrimp
Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
.

The following classification to the level of superfamilies follows Martin and Davis , with some changes based on more recent morphological and molecular studies .

Penaeus Vannamei 01
Spotted Cleaner Shrimp
Lobster 300
Bfgnbigred2
Blue Crab On Market in Piraeus Callinectes Sapidus Rathbun 20020819 317
Lyreidus Tridentatus
Order Decapoda Latreille, 1802
  • Suborder Dendrobranchiata
    Prawn

    Prawns are crustaceans, belonging to the suborder Dendrobranchiata . They are similar in appearance to shrimp, but can be distinguished by the gill structure which is branching in prawns , but is Lamella r in shrimp....
     Bate, 1888 — prawns
    • Superfamily Penaeoidea Rafinesque, 1815
    • Superfamily Sergestoidea
      Sergestoidea

      Sergestoidea is a superfamily of prawns, divided into two families: the Luciferidae and the Sergestidae....
       Dana, 1852
  • Suborder Pleocyemata
    Pleocyemata

    Pleocyemata is a sub-order of Decapoda Crustacean, erected by Martin Burkenroad in 1963 . Burkenroad's classification replaced the earlier sub-orders of Natantia and Reptantia with the monophyletic groups Dendrobranchiata and Pleocyemata....
     Burkenroad, 1963
    • Infraorder Stenopodidea
      Stenopodidea

      The Stenopodidea is a small group of Decapoda crustaceans, often confused with shrimp or prawns. In fact, they are neither, but belong in a group of their own, closer to the Reptantia decapods, such as lobsters and crabs....
       Claus, 1872
    • Infraorder Caridea
      Shrimp

      Shrimp are swimming, Decapoda crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh water and seawater. Adult shrimp are Filter feeder benthic animals living close to the bottom....
       Dana, 1852 — true shrimp
      • Superfamily Procaridoidea Chace & Manning, 1972
      • Superfamily Galatheacaridoidea Vereshchaka, 1997
      • Superfamily Pasiphaeoidea
        Pasiphaeidae

        The family Pasiphaeidae is a taxon of shrimps and the only subtaxon of the superfamily Pasiphaeoidea....
         Dana, 1852
      • Superfamily Oplophoroidea
        Oplophoridae

        The family Oplophoridae is a taxon of pelagic shrimps and the only subtaxon of the superfamily Oplophoroidea. These species are commonly known as oplophorid shrimps....
         Dana, 1852
      • Superfamily Atyoidea
        Atyidae

        Atyidae is a family of Caridean atyid shrimp, present in all tropical and most temperate waters of the world. Adults of this family are almost always confined to fresh water....
         de Haan, 1849
      • Superfamily Bresilioidea Calman, 1896
      • Superfamily Nematocarcinoidea Smith, 1884
      • Superfamily Psalidopodoidea Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1892
      • Superfamily Stylodactyloidea
        Stylodactylidae

        The family Stylodactylidae is a group of shrimps and the only representative of its superfamily ....
         Bate, 1888
      • Superfamily Campylonotoidea Sollaud, 1913
      • Superfamily Palaemonoidea Rafinesque, 1815
      • Superfamily Alpheoidea Rafinesque, 1815
      • Superfamily Processoidea Ortmann, 1890
      • Superfamily Pandaloidea Haworth, 1825
      • Superfamily Crangonoidea Haworth, 1825
    • Infraorder Eryonoidea
      Polychelidae

      The family Polychelidae contains thirty-four species of blindness, benthic lobster-like crustaceans. They are found throughout the world's tropical, sub-tropical and temperate oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Irish Sea....
       de Haan, 1841
    • Infraorder Achelata
      Achelata

      The Achelata is an infra-order of the Reptantia Decapoda. It contains the spiny lobsters , the slipper lobsters and the furry lobsters . The name "Achelata" derives from the fact that all the members of this group lack the claws that are found on almost all other decapods ....
       Scholtz & Richter, 1995
    • Infraorder Astacidea
      Astacidea

      Astacidea is a group of Decapoda crustaceans including lobsters, crayfish and their close relatives. It comprises five superfamilies, two of crayfish , one of true lobsters , one of reef lobsters , and the Glypheoidea, thought to be extinct until 1975....
       Latreille, 1802 — lobsters and crayfish
      • Superfamily Enoplometopoidea
        Reef lobster

        Reef lobsters constitute a single genus of small lobsters that live on hard rocky bottoms in tropical parts of the world's oceans and Japanese waters....
         de Saint Laurent, 1988
      • Superfamily Glypheoidea
        Glypheoidea

        The Glypheoidea , is a group of lobster-like Decapoda crustaceans which forms an important part of fossil faunas, such as the Solnhofen limestone....
         Winkler, 1883
      • Superfamily Nephropoidea
        Nephropoidea

        Nephropoidea is a superfamily of Decapoda crustaceans. It contains the true lobsters in the lobster as well as the rare Thaumastochelidae lobsters....
         Dana, 1852
      • Superfamily Astacoidea
        Crayfish

        Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter ag...
         Latreille, 1802
      • Superfamily Parastacoidea
        Crayfish

        Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related. They breathe through feather-like gills and are found in bodies of water that do not freeze to the bottom; they are also mostly found in brooks and streams where there is fresh water running, and which have shelter ag...
         Huxley, 1879
    • Infraorder Thalassinidea
      Thalassinidea

      Thalassinidea is an infraorder of Decapoda crustaceans that live in burrows in muddy bottoms of the world's oceans. In Australian English, the littoral thalassinidean Trypaea australiensis is referred to as the yabby , frequently used as bait for estuarine fishing; elsewhere, however, they are poorly known, and as such have few vernacular...
       Latreille, 1831
      • Superfamily Thalassinoidea Latreille, 1831
      • Superfamily Callianassoidea Dana, 1852
      • Superfamily Axioidea
        Axioidea (Decapoda)

        Axioidea is a superfamily of thalassinidean Decapoda crustaceans. It comprises the four Family : Axiidae , Calocarididae, Micheleidae and Strahlaxiidae....
         Huxley, 1879
    • Infraorder Anomura
      Anomura

      Anomura is a group of Decapoda crustaceans, including hermit crabs and others. Although the names of many anomurans includes the word crab, all true crabs are in the sister group to the Anomura, the Brachyura ....
       MacLeay, 1838
      • Superfamily Lomisoidea Bouvier, 1895
      • Superfamily Galatheoidea Samouelle, 1819 — squat lobsters
      • Superfamily Hippoidea
        Hippoidea

        Hippoidea is a superfamily of Decapoda crustaceans known as sand crabs or mole crabs ....
         Latreille, 1825
      • Superfamily Paguroidea
        Hermit crab

        Hermit crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea . They are not closely related to true crabs. Hermit crabs are quite commonly seen in the intertidal zone, for example in tide pools....
         Latreille, 1802 — hermit crabs
    • Infraorder Brachyura
      Crab

      Crabs are Decapoda crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax....
       Linnaeus, 1758 — crabs
      • Section Podotremata
        Podotremata

        Podotremata is the smaller one of the two section s making up the crabs . This group is also known as Dromiacea.This group is usually divided into the following superfamilies:...
         Guinot, 1977
        • Superfamily Cyclodorippoidea
          Cyclodorippoidea

          Cyclodorippoidea is a superfamily of crabs.ca:Cyclodorippoidea...
           Ortmann, 1892
        • Superfamily Homolodromioidea Alcock, 1900
        • Superfamily Dromioidea
          Dromioidea

          Dromioidea is a superfamily of crabs mostly found in Madagascar....
           de Haan, 1833
        • Superfamily Homoloidea
          Homoloidea

          Homoloidea is a superfamily of dromiacean crabs. The close relation between Homoloidea and Dromioidea is primarily established through ultrastructural characteristics of the sperm....
           de Haan, 1839
        • Superfamily Raninoidea
          Raninoidea

          Raninoidea is a superfamily of crabs, the only one in the subsection Raninoida. See Raninidae. This species of crab is unlike most, with the abdomen not being folded under the thorax....
           de Haan, 1839
      • Section Eubrachyura de Saint Laurent, 1980
        • Superfamily Dorippoidea
          Dorippoidea

          Dorippoidea is a superfamily of crabs....
           MacLeay, 1838
        • Superfamily Calappoidea
          Calappoidea

          Calappoidea is a superfamily of crabs.it:Calappoidea...
           Milne Edwards, 1837
        • Superfamily Leucosioidea
          Leucosioidea

          Leucosoidea is a superfamily of crabs.zh:????...
           Samouelle, 1819
        • Superfamily Majoidea
          Majoidea

          Majoidea is a superfamily of crabs....
           Samouelle, 1819
        • Superfamily Aethroidea Dana, 1851
        • Superfamily Hymenosomatoidea MacLeay, 1838
        • Superfamily Parthenopoidea
          Parthenopoidea

          Parthenopoidea is a superfamily of crabs....
           MacLeay, 1838
        • Superfamily Retroplumoidea Gill, 1894
        • Superfamily Cancroidea
          Cancroidea

          Cancroidea is a superfamily of crabs....
           Latreille, 1802
        • Superfamily Corystoidea Samouelle, 1819
        • Superfamily Portunoidea
          Portunoidea

          Portunoidea is a superfamily of crabs. They are close relatives of the Xanthoidea, and the family Hexapodidae and Mathildellidae, usually included there, are sometimes placed in the Portunoidea, while the deepsea crabs are usually placed in the Portunoidea but sometimes in the Xanthoidea....
           Rafinesque, 1815
        • Superfamily Bythograeoidea Williams, 1980
        • Superfamily Xanthoidea
          Xanthoidea

          File:Goneplax rhomboides 1.jpgXanthoidea is a superfamily of crabs. As presented here, it includes the Goneplacoidea, Hexapodoidea, Pilumnoidea, Pseudozioidea and Trapezioidea, though this arrangement has been questioned in recent studies....
           MacLeay, 1838
        • Superfamily Bellioidea Dana, 1852
        • Superfamily Potamoidea
          Potamoidea

          Potamoidea is a superfamily of crabs....
           Ortmann, 1896
        • Superfamily Pseudothelphusoidea Ortmann, 1893
        • Superfamily Gecarcinucoidea
          Gecarcinucoidea

          Gecarcinucoidea is a superfamily of fresh water crabs.References...
           Rathbun, 1904
        • Superfamily Cryptochiroidea Paulson, 1875
        • Superfamily Pinnotheroidea de Haan, 1833
        • Superfamily Ocypodoidea
          Ocypodoidea

          Ocypodoidea is a superfamily of crabs, named after the genus Ocypode. See also Ghost Crab.es:Ocypodoideapl:Ocypodoidea...
           Rafinesque, 1815
        • Superfamily Grapsoidea
          Grapsoidea

          Grapsoidea is a superfamily of crabs. They contain many taxa which are terrestrial , semi-terrestrial or limnic . Another well-known member with a more conventional lifestyle is the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis....
           MacLeay, 1838


See also

  • List of Atlantic decapod species


External links