Knowra Anomura Anomura Anomura is an infraorder of decapod crustaceans that includes hermit crabs, king crabs, squat lobsters, porcelain crabs, and related groups. Many anomurans have reduced or asymmetrical abdomens.
Decapoda : Decapoda is an order of crustaceans characterized by five pairs of walking legs, including shrimps, lobsters, and crabs. Anomura is one of the major infraorders within this broader decapod order.
Hermit crab : A hermit crab is an anomuran crustacean whose soft, often asymmetrical abdomen commonly occupies a borrowed shell. Hermit crabs are the best-known anomurans and exemplify abdominal asymmetry.
Carcinization : Carcinization is the repeated evolution of a crab-like body form in crustaceans. Several anomuran lineages independently evolved crab-like shapes, including king crabs.
Brachyura : Brachyura is the infraorder of true crabs, generally characterized by a short abdomen tucked beneath the thorax. True crabs resemble some anomurans, but belong to a separate decapod infraorder.
Malacostraca : Malacostraca is the largest class of crustaceans, including crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill, and woodlice. This class contains Decapoda and supplies the wider body plan from which anomurans are classified.
King crab : A king crab is a large marine anomuran crustacean, many species of which are commercially harvested. King crabs show how crab-like appearance evolved within Anomura.
Crustacean molting : Crustacean molting is the shedding of an exoskeleton to allow growth, followed by formation of a new cuticle. Anomurans grow through molts, temporarily exposing vulnerable soft bodies.
Caridea : Caridea is a large infraorder of shrimp, including many familiar marine and freshwater species. Caridean shrimp provide a contrasting decapod body plan to the varied forms of Anomura.
Crustacea : Crustacea is a diverse group of mostly aquatic arthropods with jointed limbs and a hard exoskeleton. Anomurans belong to this broader arthropod group.
Squat lobster : A squat lobster is a small, flattened anomuran crustacean resembling a lobster but often living on the seafloor. Squat lobsters represent a diverse, lobster-shaped branch of the infraorder.
Show all 20