BLEPHARIPODIDAE, BOYKO, 2002

BOYKO, CHRISTOPHER B., 2002, A Worldwide Revision Of The Recent And Fossil Sand Crabs Of The Albuneidae Stimpson And Blepharipodidae, New Family (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Hippoidea), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2002 (272), pp. 1-396 : 10-11

BLEPHARIPODIDAE , NEW FAMILY

DIAGNOSIS: Carapace longer than wide, broadly keeled axially, front narrow; outerocular spines long, spinose; one or two hepatic anterolateral spines present; epibranchial spine present; branchiostegite weakly spinose. Rostrum triangular, spinose. Gills trichobranch; gill formula given below. Distal peduncular segment cylindrical, corneas large. Antennular segment I unarmed; dorsal flagellum with 18–85 articles, ventral flagellum with 6–21 articles. Antennal segment I unarmed dorsally; acicle short; flagellum with 8–44 articles. Proximal and distal maxillar endites subequal in width. Maxilliped I with epipod. Maxilliped II exopod with multiarticulated flagellum. Maxilliped III carpal projection short; merus armed; strong crista dentata present; exopod slender, with flagellum. Pereopod I dactylus subchelate; distodorsal carpal spine present; cutting edge spi­ nose. Pereopods II–IV dactyli laterally compressed and dorsoventrally expanded; dorsal margins of carpi spinose. Pereopod V reduced, chelate. Abdomen with pleura on somites II–V. Females with uniramous, paired pleopods on somites II–V; males without pleopods. Uropods present. Telson entire, ovate, laterally expanded. Telson sexual dimorphism weak to absent.

Gill formula (podobranch/arthrobranch/ pleurobranch): maxilliped I, 0/0/0; maxilliped II, 0/0/0; maxilliped III, 0/0/1+1 rudimentary; pereopod I, 0/2/0; pereopod II, 0/2/ 1; pereopod III, 0/2/1; pereopod IV, 0/2/1; pereopod V, 0/0/0.

DISTRIBUTION: Eastern and western Pacific Ocean, also southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Exclusively antitropical.

TYPE GENUS: Blepharipoda Randall, 1840 .

INCLUDED GENERA: Blepharipoda Randall, 1840 ; Lophomastix Benedict, 1904 .

REMARKS: These two genera form a monophyletic unit that is either basal to the Hippidae and Albuneidae within the Hippoidea , or is one of the basal families of the Galatheoidea. Current evidence is equivocal as to the correct placement of this group at the superfamily level, and it is retained in the Hippoidea pending further study (Boyko and Harvey, in prep.). There is no doubt, however, that the retention of these two genera in the Albuneidae results in that family being paraphyletic, and so this new family is erect­ ed to contain them. The suggested common name for this family is ‘‘spiny sand crabs.’’