Cryptochiridae

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Family of crabs

title: "Cryptochiridae" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["crabs", "decapod-families"] description: "Family of crabs" topic_path: "general/crabs" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptochiridae" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Family of crabs ::

| image = Lithoscaptus semperi en Trachyphyllia geoffroyi.jpg | image_caption = Lithoscaptus semperi | parent_authority = Paul'son, 1875 | taxon = Cryptochiridae | authority = Paul'son, 1875 | display_parents = 2 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = 21, See text

Cryptochiridae is a family of crabs known commonly as gall crabs or coral gall crabs. They live inside dwellings in corals and cause the formation of galls in the coral structure. The family is currently placed in its own superfamily, Cryptochiroidea.

Gall crabs are sexually dimorphic, with males being much smaller than females. Contrary to females, most males are free-living and "visit" females for mating.

These crabs are most common in shallow waters where they live in association with stony corals, but they have also been recorded from mesophotic zones and deep waters. They likely feed on mucus secreted by their coral hosts, as well as various detritus. Some species are thought to be filter feeders.

Because crab size is related to gall size, it is likely that the crabs form the galls, rather than living randomly in a dwelling within a coral. Related groups of gall crab taxa share a similar gall type, suggesting that the crabs influence the morphology of the galls.

The family contains the following twenty-one genera:

References

References

  1. Johnsson, R., et al. (2006). [http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/27573/27573.pdf The association of two gall crabs (Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) with the reef-building coral ''Siderastrea stellata'' Verrill, 1868.] ''Hydrobiologia'' 559(1), 379-84.
  2. Kropp, R. K. (1990). [http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/18477/18477.pdf Revision of the genera of gall crabs (Crustacea: Cryptochiridae) occurring in the Pacific Ocean.] ''Pacific Science'' 44(4) 417-48.
  3. van der Meij, S.E.T. (2014). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2014/00000090/00000004/art00011 Host species, range extensions, and an observation of the mating system of Atlantic shallow-water gall crabs (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae)] ''Bulletin of Marine Science'' 90,1001-1010.
  4. van der Meij, S.E.T., et al. (2015). [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/2015/00000091/00000002/art00005 A mesophotic record of the gall crab ''Opecarcinus hypostegus'' from a Curaçaoan reef.] ''Bulletin of Marine Science'' 91, 205-206.
  5. van Tienderen, K.M. & S.E.T. van der Meij (2016). [https://peerj.com/articles/1794/?td=wk Occurrence patterns of coral-dwelling gall crabs (Cryptochiridae) over depth intervals in the Caribbean.] ''PeerJ'' 4, e1794.
  6. Wei, T. P., et al. (2013). [http://jmst.ntou.edu.tw/marine/dsea/304-307.pdf Gall polymorphism of coral-inhabiting crabs (Decapoda, Cryptochiridae): a new perspective.] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-11-11 ''Journal of Marine Science and Technology'' 21, 304-07.)
  7. "Cryptochiridae".
  8. (2008). "Systema Brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant Brachyuran crabs of the world". [[Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]].

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