Family PALICIDAE Bouvier, 1898

Museums

Regional Maps

• Palicidae Rathbun, M.J. 1898. The Brachyura collected by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Albatross on the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia, to San Francisco, California, 1887–1888. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 21: 567-616 pls 41-44 [600] [Name No. 406 on Official List of Family-Group Names in Zoology, see International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1964. Opinion 712. Forty-seven genera of Decapod Crustacea: placed on the Official List. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 21: 336–351 [26 November 1964], but authorship and citation erroneous, see Castro, P. 2000. Crustacea Decapoda: A revision of the Indo-west Pacific species of palicid crabs (Brachyura Palicidae Bouvier, 1898). 437–610, figs 1–61 in Crosnier, A. (ed.). Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 21. Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris 184: 1–813].

  Secondary source:

   International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1964. Opinion 712. Forty-seven genera of Decapod Crustacea: placed on the Official List. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 21: 336-351 [26 November 1964]; Castro, P. 2000. Crustacea Decapoda: A revision of the Indo-west Pacific species of palicid crabs (Brachyura Palicidae Bouvier, 1898). pp. 437-610, figs 1-61 in Crosnier, A. (ed.). Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 21. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] 184: 1-813.
• Cymopoliidae Dana, J.D. 1854. On the geographical distribution of Crustacea. American Journal of Science and Arts 2 18: 1-45, 1 map [9] [as Cymopolidae, corrected to Cymopoliidae by Faxon, W. 1895. Stalk-eyed Crustacea of the "Albatross". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 18: 1–292, 56 pls (38); Name No. 406 on the Official List of Family-Group Names in Zoology, see International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1964. Opinion 712. Forty-seven genera of Decapod Crustacea: placed on the Official List. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 21: 336–351 [26 November 1964]].

  Type genus:

   Cymopolia Roux, 1830 [junior homonym of Cymopolia Lamouroux, 1816, and thus the family group name for which it is the stem, has been rejected in favour of the later name, Palicidae].

  Secondary source:

   Faxon, W. 1895. Stalk-eyed Crustacea of the "Albatross". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 18: 1-292, 56 pls; International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1964. Opinion 712. Forty-seven genera of Decapod Crustacea: placed on the Official List. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 21: 336-351 [26 November 1964].
• Palici Bouvier, E.L. 1898. Observations on the crabs of the family Dorippidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 1: 103-105 [105].
• Palicés Bouvier, 1897 [invalid name; not in Latin, unavailable name].
• Palicae Bouvier, 1898.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Castro, P. 2000. Crustacea Decapoda: A revision of the Indo-west Pacific species of palicid crabs (Brachyura Palicidae Bouvier, 1898). pp. 437-610, figs 1-61 in Crosnier, A. (ed.). Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 21. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] 184: 1-813 [443-444]

Introduction

The Palicidae is a family of mostly small crabs, found in a variety of habitats from shallow water coral reefs through to the deep sea. They are rarely captured in large numbers, however, and almost nothing is known of their biology or life histories. Palicids reach their highest diversity in the Indo-west Pacific, but are also found in the eastern Pacific, the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.

The first important revision of Indo-west Pacific palicids was that of Moosa & Serène (1981). This paper is particularly significant because the authors separated the family into two subfamilies, Palicinae s. str. and Crossotonotinae Moosa & Serène, 1981. A comprehensive revision of Indo-west Pacific Palicidae was published recently (Castro 2000). In this work, Castro recognised 10 genera, and 43 species, among them four new genera and 17 new species.

An important familial feature is the greatly reduced, and slender, fifth pair of walking legs, although this character state does not occur in the small number of species belonging to the subfamily Crossotonotinae, and this feature, along with other evidence, has led to its elevation out of the Palicidae to full family status.

Diagnosis

Dorsal surface of carapace typically depressed, granular, often with high bosses of varying sizes; confluence of branchial and mesogastric regions depressed. Frontal border of carapace divided into 2–4 lobes. Anterolateral borders each with a varying number (1–4) of triangular, rounded, or truncate teeth. Supra-orbital and suborbital borders long, usually with lobes (may be dentiform); orbits deep, wide. Antennae with basal segment rectangular or variously expanded; flagellum well developed. Retina of eyes dorsoventrally flattened or spherical; peduncles typically long, with soft or granular tubercles. Chelipeds small to moderate in size, equal or unequal (particularly in males). Antennules long, transversely folded beneath front; interantennular septum narrow. Epistome ventrally inclined (sunken) or dorsoventrally expanded. Buccal cavity square, mostly but not completely covered by third maxillipeds. Meri of third maxillipeds small, with palp on each inner border. Fifth pair of pereiopods (P5) characteristically reduced in size (less than carapace length in practically all species), conspicuously more slender or of same morphology as anterior walking legs (P2–4). Male opening sternal; sperm ducts under sternal plates, penis soft, curved, free on inner side of coxae. Male first pleopods with helicoidal or sinuous basal parts, distal parts uniramous or biramous. Male and female abdomens with six segments plus telson, some (segments 1–2) can be dorsoventrally compressed, others fused. Male abdomen narrower than sternum, with both sides parallel to each other or triangular; locking mechanism with very low to medium-sized tubercle at edge of thoracic sternite 5 and shallow concavity on underside (ventral surface) of abdominal segment 6. Abdomen of mature females rounded, broad, thoracic sternite 8 visible laterally; triangular in immature females. Vulva large, visible on thoracic sternite 5, but actually in sternite 6. (After Castro 2000).

General References

Castro, P. 2000. Crustacea Decapoda: A revision of the Indo-west Pacific species of palicid crabs (Brachyura Palicidae Bouvier, 1898). pp. 437-610, figs 1-61 in Crosnier, A. (ed.). Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 21. Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris [1936-1950] 184: 1-813

Moosa, M.K. & Serène, R. 1981. Observations on the Indo-West-Pacific Palicidae (Crustacea, Decapoda) with descriptions of two new subfamilies, four new genera and six new species. Marine Research in Indonesia 22: 21-66 figs 1-14 pls 1-3

History of changes