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Invertebrate Systematics Invertebrate Systematics Society
Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography

Decapoda

The Decapoda is the most familiar and largest of the Crustacean orders and includes the crabs, shrimps, prawns, lobsters and crayfishes. Some of these have been long studied as model organisms, and others are gastronomic delicacies. Even so, their complicated systematics demands ongoing research. Invertebrate Systematics has published many significant studies of the Decapoda, of which 12 are showcased in this virtual issue. Launched to coincide with the 8th International Crustacean Congress in Frankfurt, Germany (18-23 August 2014), this collection spans molecular and morphological phylogenetic and revisionary taxonomic studies of crabs, crayfish, freshwater and marine shrimps.

Last Updated: 08 Aug 2014


Spider crabs in the family Mithracidae are common on both coasts of the Americas, but little is known about their evolutionary relationships. We have used molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological examinations to revise relationships within this family and diagnose new genera. This revision lays the groundwork for revisions of other families of spider crabs using similar methods.


Over the last two centuries, several classification schemes of Palaemonoidea have been proposed and modified, but the classification of Palaemonoidea remains unresolved. In this study, mitochondrial and nuclear genes were used to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships within Palaemonoidea, and the molecular data reveal some discrepancies with the current classification. The results suggest some taxonomic characters of Palaemonoidea might reflect their environmental transition from sea to fresh water, and a full revision of Palaemonoidea and its constituent taxa are recommended.


The freshwater shrimp family Kakaducarididae was previously considered an ancient group comprising three relict species in northern Australia and north America. This revisionary study synonymises the Kakaducarididae with the Palaemonidaeand assigns all Australian species, including three new species, to the genus Leptopalaemon, a recent lineage estimated to be of late Tertiary origin. The close association of Leptopalaemon with the Arnhem Land plateau/escarpment complex and the highly-restricted distributions of four of the five known species highlight the high conservation value of the genus.