Squat lobster
Squat lobsters are small marine decapod crustaceans in the infraorder Anomura, with flattened bodies and long tails usually tucked beneath them.
Anomura: Anomura is a decapod infraorder containing hermit crabs, king crabs, squat lobsters, and related crustaceans. Squat lobsters belong to this diverse group of decapods.
Benthic zone: The benthic zone is the ecological region at the bottom of a body of water. Many squat lobsters live and forage on the seafloor.
Munida quadrispina: Munida quadrispina is a squat lobster species found in the northeastern Pacific. It is a well-studied example of a squat lobster on continental slopes.
True lobster: True lobsters are marine decapods in the infraorder Astacidea, including clawed and spiny lobsters. Despite the shared name and body outline, squat lobsters belong to Anomura, not Astacidea.
Decapoda: Decapoda is the crustacean order comprising animals with five pairs of walking legs. Their five pairs of thoracic limbs place squat lobsters among decapods.
Suspension feeding: Suspension feeding is the capture of food particles carried in water, rather than collected from a solid surface. Some squat lobsters filter suspended particles with specialized appendages.
Pleuroncodes planipes: Pleuroncodes planipes is an eastern Pacific squat lobster also known as the pelagic red crab. Unlike most squat lobsters, it can occur in large, near-surface swarms.
Hermit crab: Hermit crabs are anomuran crustaceans, many of which protect their soft abdomens inside borrowed shells. They share Anomura with squat lobsters but evolved a different way to protect the abdomen.
Carapace: A carapace is a protective shell covering the cephalothorax of many arthropods and crustaceans. Its flattened shape helps give squat lobsters their characteristic profile.
Scavenging: Scavenging is feeding on dead organisms or their remains. Many species use seafloor carcasses as food.