Stomatopoda

Article By:

Caldwell, Roy L. Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California.

Holthuis, Lipke B. Division of Crustacea, Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Last reviewed:June 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.657400

The only living order of the subclass Hoplocarida belonging to the class Malacostraca of the Crustacea. This order of mantis shrimps contains seven extant superfamilies: the Erythrosquilloidea with only the type genus and two species; the Lysiosquilloidea with 4 families (the Coronididae, Nannosquillidae, Lysiosquillidae, and Tetrasquillidae), 29 genera, and more than 70 species; the Bathysquilloidea with 2 families (the Indosquillidae and Bathysquillidae), 3 genera, and 4 species; the Squilloidea with only 1 family (Squillidae), 44 genera, and more than 150 species; the Eurysquilloidea with 1 family (Eurysquillidae), 6 genera, and over 20 species; the Parasquilloidea with 1 family (Parasquillidae), 3 genera, and 10 species; and the Gonodactyloidea with 7 families (the Alainosquillidae, Hemisquillidae, Pseudosquillidae, Odontodactylidae, Protosquillidae, Takuidae, and Gonodactylidae), 29 genera, and over 100 species. Both the Decapoda and the Stomatopoda are among the larger Crustacea. The size of adult stomatopods ranges from approximately 10 mm (0.4 in.) [for example, Hoplosquilla] to more than 385 mm (15.4 in.) [for example, Lysiosquillina maculata]. See also: Crustacea; Eumalacostraca; Hoplocarida; Malacostraca

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