Porcellanidae

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Cladus: Pancrustacea
Superclassis: Multicrustacea
Classis: Malacostraca
Subclassis: Eumalacostraca
Superordo: Eucarida
Ordo: Decapoda
Subordo: Pleocyemata
Infraordo: Anomura
Superfamilia: Galatheoidea

Familia: Porcellanidae
Genera: Aliaporcellana – Ancylocheles – Capilliporcellana – Clastotoechus – Enosteoides – Euceramus – Eulenaios – Heteropolyonyx – Lissoporcellana – Megalobrachuium – Minyocerus – Neopetrolisthes – Neopisoma – Pachycheles – Padrycheles – Parapetrolisthes – Petrolisthes – Pisidia – Polyonyx – Porcellana – Porcellanella – Pseudoporcellanella – Raphidopus – Ulloaia

Name

Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825
References
Selected References

Ahyong, S.T.; Baba, K.; MacPherson, E.; Poore, G.C.B. 2010: A new classification of the Galatheoidea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura). Zootaxa 2676: 57–68. Preview Reference page.
Ferreira, L.A. de A. & Tavares, M. 2017. A new species of Pachycheles (Crustacea: Anomura: Porcellanidae), with taxonomic remarks on two other porcelain crabs from the remote oceanic archipelago of Trindade and Martin Vaz, South Atlantic Ocean. Zootaxa 4299(4): 546–550. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4299.4.5. Reference page.
Hiller, A. & Werding, B. 2018. On a new commensal species of Aliaporcellana from the western Pacific (Crustacea, Decapoda, Porcellanidae). ZooKeys 780: 1–9. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.780.26388 Reference page.
Trivedi, J.N., Osawa, M. & Vachhrajani, K.D. 2017. A new species of the genus Ancylocheles Haig, 1978 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Porcellanidae) from Gujarat, northwestern India. Zootaxa 4299(3): 384–390. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4299.3.4. Reference page.

Additional references

Diez, Y.L. & Lira, C. 2017. Systematics and biogeography of Cuban porcelain crabs (Decapoda: Anomura: Porcellanidae). Zootaxa 4216(5): 441–456. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4216.5.2. Reference page.
Ferreira, L.A. De A. & de Melo, G.A.S. 2016. Porcelain crabs from Brazil (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Porcellanidae). Zootaxa 4092(2): 175–194. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4092.2.2.Reference page.
Ferreira, L.A. De A. & Tavares, M. 2019. A review of the records of Pachycheles rugimanus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Porcellanidae) from Brazil, with the description of a new species. Zootaxa 4568(1): 185–193. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4568.1.12 Paywall Reference page.
Vela, M.J. & González-Gordillo, J.I. 2016. Larval descriptions of the family Porcellanidae: A worldwide annotated compilation of the literature (Crustacea, Decapoda). ZooKeys 564: 47-70. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.564.7018.Reference page.

Links

https://web.archive.org/ Catalogue of Life: 2019 Annual Checklist
Porcellanidae in the World Register of Marine Species
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2019. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset. Taxon: Porcellanidae.
Porcellanidae – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Zicha, Ondřej et al. Porcellanidae – Taxon details on Biological Library (BioLib).

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Porzellankrebse
English: Porcelain crab
norsk nynorsk: Porselenskrabbar
svenska: Porslinskrabbor
中文: 瓷蟹科

Porcelain crabs are decapod crustaceans in the widespread family Porcellanidae, which superficially resemble true crabs. They have flattened bodies as an adaptation for living in rock crevices. They are delicate, readily losing limbs when attacked, and use their large claws for maintaining territories. They first appeared in the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic epoch, 145–152 million years ago.
Description

Porcelain crabs are small, usually with body widths less than 15 millimetres (9⁄16 inch).[1] They share the general body plan of a squat lobster, but their bodies are more compact and flattened, an adaptation for living and hiding under rocks.[2] Porcelain crabs are quite fragile animals, and often shed their limbs to escape predators,[3] hence their name. The lost appendage can grow back over several moults. Porcelain crabs have large chelae (claws), which are used for territorial struggles, but not for catching food.[1] The fifth pair of pereiopods is reduced and used for cleaning.[4]
Evolution

Porcelain crabs are an example of carcinisation, whereby a noncrab-like animal (in this case a relative of a squat lobster) evolves into an animal that resembles a true crab.[5][6] Porcelain crabs can be distinguished from true crabs by the apparent number of walking legs (three instead of four pairs; the fourth pair is reduced and held against the carapace), and the long antennae originating on the front outside of the eyestalks.[3] The abdomen of the porcelain crab is long and folded underneath it, free to move.[3]
Biogeography and ecology
Porcellana platycheles
Neopetrolisthes maculatus

Porcelain crabs live in all the world's oceans, except the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic.[7] They are common under rocks, and can often be found and observed on rocky beaches and shorelines, startled creatures scurrying away when a stone is lifted. They feed by combing plankton and other organic particles from the water using long setae (feathery hair- or bristle-like structures) on the mouthparts.[4]

Some of the common species of porcelain crabs in the Caribbean Sea are Petrolisthes quadratus, found in large numbers under rocks in the intertidal, and the red-and-white polka-dotted Porcellana sayana, which lives commensally within the shells inhabited by large hermit crabs. In Hong Kong, Petrolisthes japonicus is common.[2]
Diversity

As of 2018, some 4723 extant species of porcelain crab had been described,[8][citation needed] divided among these 30 genera:[8][9]

Aliaporcellana Nakasone & Miyake, 1969
Allopetrolisthes Haig, 1960
Ancylocheles Haig, 1978
Capilliporcellana Haig, 1978
Clastotoechus Haig, 1960
Enosteoides Johnson, 1970
Euceramus Stimpson, 1860
Eulenaios Ng & Nakasone, 1993
Heteropolyonyx Osawa, 2001
Heteroporcellana Haig, 1978
Liopetrolisthes Haig, 1960
Lissoporcellana Haig, 1978
Madarateuchus Harvey, 1999
Megalobrachium Stimpson, 1858
Minyocerus Stimpson, 1858
Neopetrolisthes Miyake, 1937
Neopisosoma Haig, 1960
Novorostrum Osawa, 1998
Orthochela Glassell, 1936
Pachycheles Stimpson, 1858
Parapetrolisthes Haig, 1962
Petrocheles Miers, 1876
Petrolisthes Stimpson, 1858
Pisidia Leach, 1820
Polyonyx Stimpson, 1858
Porcellana Lamarck, 1801
Porcellanella White, 1852
Pseudoporcellanella Sankarankutty, 1962
Raphidopus Stimpson, 1858
Ulloaia Glassell, 1938

The fossil record of porcelain crabs includes species of Pachycheles, Pisidia, Polyonyx, Porcellana, and a further six genera known only from fossils:[10]

Annieporcellana Fraaije et al., 2008
Beripetrolisthes De Angeli & Garassino, 2002
Eopetrolisthes De Angeli & Garassino, 2002
Lobipetrolisthes De Angeli & Garassino, 2002
Longoporcellana Müller & Collins, 1991

The earliest claimed porcelain crab fossil was Jurellana from the Tithonian aged Ernstbrunn Limestone of Austria.[10] However, it was subsequently determined to be a true crab. With the new oldest porcelain crab being Vibrissalana from the same locality.[11]
References

Mark W. Denny & Steven Dean Gaines (2007). "Crabs". Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores. Issue 1 of Encyclopedias of the Natural World. University of California Press. pp. 164–176. ISBN 978-0-520-25118-2.
Brian Morton & John Edward Morton (1993). "Boulder shores". The Sea Shore Ecology of Hong Kong. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 86–125. ISBN 978-962-209-027-9.
Gary C. B. Poore & Shane T. Ahyong (2004). "Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825". Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia: a guide to identification. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 242–246. ISBN 978-0-643-06906-0.
Gerald R. Allen (1997). "Anemone Crab Neopetrolisthes maculatus". Tropical Marine Life. Periplus nature guides. Tuttle Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-962-593-157-9.
C. L. Morrison; A. W. Harvey; S. Lavery; K. Tieu; Y. Huang; C. W. Cunningham (2001). "Mitochondrial gene rearrangements confirm the parallel evolution of the crab-like form" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 269 (1489): 345–350. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1886. PMC 1690904. PMID 11886621.
Jonas Keiler, Stefan Richter & Christian S. Wirkner (2014). "Evolutionary morphology of the organ systems in squat lobsters and porcelain crabs (crustacea: Decapoda: Anomala): an insight into carcinization". Journal of Morphology. 276 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1002/jmor.20311. PMID 25156549. S2CID 26260996.
P. McLaughlin, S. Ahyong & J. K. Lowry (October 2, 2002). "Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825". Anomura: Families. Australian Museum. Archived from the original on April 29, 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2005.
Masayuki Osawa & Patsy A. McLaughlin (2010). "Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) Part II – Porcellanidae" (PDF). Zootaxa. Suppl. 23: 109–129. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-02.
WoRMS (2010). "Porcellanidae". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
Carrie E. Schweitzer & Rodney M. Feldmann (2010). "Earliest known Porcellanidae (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheoidea) (Jurassic: Tithonian)" (PDF). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 258 (2): 243–248. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0096.
Robins, Cristina M; Klompmaker, Adiël A (2019-11-14). "Extreme diversity and parasitism of Late Jurassic squat lobsters (Decapoda: Galatheoidea) and the oldest records of porcellanids and galatheids". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 187 (4): 1131–1154. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz067. ISSN 0024-4082.