''Munidopsis'' is a genus of

squat lobster Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which form part of the decapod infraorder Anomura, alongs ...

. It is the second largest of all the genera of squat lobsters, after ''

Munida ''Munida'' is the largest genus of squat lobster Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which ...

'', with over 200 species. Its members are mainly found on continental slopes and on abyssal plains. A few fossil species are also known, including specimens from the

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...

(

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

Diversity

There are currently over 230 known species.

Distribution

''Munidopsis'', like other squat lobsters, are often found in chemosynthetic environments in the ocean. ''Munidopsis'' was the first confirmed genus to inhabit the underwater

Mud volcano A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or Slurry, slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true Igneous rock, igneous volcanoes as th ...

habitat. Most ''Munidopsis'' species are found in the deep sea at depths more than 5300m. In 2022, during surveys of the wreck of the ''Endurance'', a squat lobster believed to be an unidentified species in the ''Munidopsis'' genus was observed.

Historical significance

The genus Munidopsis dates back to the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

and

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cret ...

of Antarctica.

Species

The described living species are as follows:Türkay, M. (2012). ''Munidopsis'' Whiteaves, 1874. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=106836 on 2013-01-09

Diversity

Distribution

Historical significance

Species

References

Further reading