Order
Decapoda (Decapods)
Pagurus hirsutiusculus. Photo: (c) marlin harms, some rights reserved (CC BY)
The Decapoda or decapods (literally “ten-footed”) are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crayfish, crabs, lobsters, prawns, and shrimp. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estimated to contain nearly 15,000 species in around 2,700 genera, with around 3,300 fossil species. Nearly half of these species are crabs, with the shrimp (about 3000 species) and Anomura including hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, squat lobsters (about 2500 species) making up…
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