Kingdom Animalia Order Decapoda Superfamily Grapsoidea Phylum Arthropoda Rank Family | Subphylum Crustacea Infraorder Brachyura Scientific name Gecarcinidae Higher classification Grapsoidea | |
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Lower classifications Cardisoma guanhumi, Cardisoma carnifex, Cardisoma armatum, Gecarcinus quadratus, Gecarcinus ruricola | ||
The Gecarcinidae, the land crabs, are a family of true crabs that are adapted for terrestrial existence. Similar to all other crabs, land crabs possess a series of gills. In addition, the part of the carapace covering the gills is inflated and equipped with blood vessels. These organs extract oxygen from the air, analogous to the vertebrate lungs. Adult land crabs are terrestrial, but visit the sea periodically, where they breed and their larvae develop. Land crabs are tropical omnivores which sometimes cause considerable damage to crops. Most land crabs have one of their claws larger than the other.
The family contains these genera:
References
Gecarcinidae Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA