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Systematics, phylogeny and biogeography
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Phylogenetic systematics and biogeography of the sand crab families Albuneidae and Blepharipodidae (Crustacea: Anomura: Hippoidea)

Christopher B. Boyko A B D and Alan W. Harvey C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024, USA.

B Present address: Department of Biology, Dowling College, 150 Idle Hour Boulevard, Oakdale, NY 11769, USA.

C Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: cboyko@amnh.org

Invertebrate Systematics 23(1) 1-18 https://doi.org/10.1071/IS06053
Submitted: 30 November 2006  Accepted: 12 December 2008   Published: 31 March 2009

Abstract

Many unrelated crustaceans sharing a suite of convergent specialisations for a sand-burrowing existence have been placed in the anomuran family Albuneidae at one time or another. Although most of these non-albuneids have long since been reassigned to other families, recent molecular and morphological evidence has suggested a further split within the family between the Albuneidae (sensu stricto) and the Blepharipodidae. We used 173 morphological characters to test phylogenetic hypotheses about the monophyly of the Albuneidae and Blepharipodidae, as well as their constituent genera. We included 61 known species of albuneids and blepharipodids (including eight fossil species) and six outgroup species in five anomuran families. Analyses confirm that the Albuneidae and the Blepharipodidae are separate and monophyletic taxa that have convergently evolved similar adaptations to sand burrowing. Zygopa Holthuis, 1961 and Squillalbunea Boyko, 2002 are sister-taxa to the rest of the Albuneidae; all other Recent genera of albuneids are well supported and form two clades at the subfamily level. An Indo-Pacific origin for the Albuneidae is proposed and various scenarios regarding possible routes of dispersal are discussed.


Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Drs. Robert Bullock (University of Rhode Island) and Paula Mikkelsen (Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, NY) for assistance and discussions. Cliff Cunningham (Duke University) is thanked for discussions on anomuran phylogeny and for sharing some prepublication results. Thanks for Steve Thurston (AMNH) for assistance with photography (Fig. 1A). Drs. Alain Crosnier (MNHN, retired) and Tin-Yam Chan (NTOU) kindly provided photographs of the specimens in Fig. 1B and C, respectively. Comments from two anonymous reviewers were of great assistance in revising the manuscript.


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Appendix 1.  Taxa, material studied and references examined
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Appendix 2.  Character list
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Appendix 3.  Data matrix
Polymorphic states: A = 0&1; B = 1&2; C = 2&3; D = 1&8
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