The Majoidea are a

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

of crabs which includes the various spider crabs.

Taxonomy

In "''A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans''" De Grave and colleagues divided Majoidea into six families: * Family Epialtidae ** Subfamily Epialtinae ** Subfamily Pisinae ** Subfamily Pliosomatinae ** Subfamily Tychiinae * Family Hymenosomatidae * Family Inachidae * Family

Inachoididae Inachoididae is a family of crabs originally erected by James Dwight Dana in 1852. It was not recognised as a valid family until the early 1980s. Its members closely resemble those of the family Inachidae, and the Inachoididae could be recogni ...

* Family

Majidae Majidae is a family of crabs, comprising around 200 marine species inside 52 genera, with a carapace that is longer than it is broad, and which forms a point at the front. The legs can be very long in some species, leading to the name "spider c ...

** Subfamily Eurynolambrinae ** Subfamily Majinae ** Subfamily Micromaiinae ** Subfamily Mithracinae ** Subfamily Planoterginae * Family Oregoniidae The classification has since been revised, with subfamilies Epialtinae and Mithracinae being elevated to families and Hymenosomatidae being moved to its own superfamily. The family composition according to the

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific speciali ...

is as follows: * family Epialtidae MacLeay, 1838 * family Inachidae MacLeay, 1838 * family

Dana, 1851 * family Macrocheiridae Dana, 1851 * family

Samouelle, 1819 – "true" spider crabs * family Mithracidae Balss, 1929 * family Oregoniidae Garth, 1958 * family Priscinachidae Breton, 2009 Notable species within the superfamily include: *

Japanese spider crab The Japanese spider crab (''Macrocheira kaempferi'') is a species of marine crab that lives in the waters around Japan. It has the largest known leg-span of any arthropod. It goes through three main larval stages along with a prezoeal stage to ...

(''Macrocheira kaempferi''), the largest living species of crab, found on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. * '' Libinia emarginata'', the ''portly spider crab'', a species of crab found in estuarine habitats on the east coast of North America. * ''

Hyas Hyas ( grc, Ὑάς, Hūás, ; ), in Greek mythology, was a Boeotian who was regarded as the ancestor of the ancient Hyantes (Boeotians). His name means rain from ''hyô, hyetos.'' Family Hyas was the son of the Titan Atlas and either of the O ...

'', a genus of spider crabs, including the great spider crab (''Hyas araneus''), found in the Atlantic and the North Sea. * ''

Maja squinado ''Maja squinado'' (the European spider crab, spiny spider crab or spinous spider crab) is a species of migratory crab found in the north-east Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. The appearance of the European spider crab is similar to the much ...

'', sometimes called the "European long leg crab or pie faced crab" because of the way its face is shaped. * '' Australian majid spider crab'', found off Tasmania, are known to pile up on each other, the faster-moving crabs clambering over the smaller, slower ones. There is one fossil family, Priscinachidae, represented by a single species, '' Priscinachus elongatus'', from the Cenomanian of France. Image:Candy crab.jpg, '' Hoplophrys oatesi'', an Epialtidae Image:Limnopilos naiyanetri - (4).jpg, '' Limnopilos naiyanetri'', a Hymenosomatidae Image:Macrocheira kaempferi.jpg, '' Macrocheira kaempferi'', an Inachidae Image:Pyromaia cuspidata.jpg, '' Pyromaia cuspidata'', an

Image:Maja squinado.jpg, ''

'', a

Image:Hyas coarctatus.jpg, '' Hyas coarctatus'', an Oregoniidae

References

Cenomanian first appearances Arthropod superfamilies Extant Cenomanian first appearances {{crab-stub