Achelata

Jasus edwardsii

The Achelata are a partial order of decapods. It includes some crawfish kinds of culinary importance.

Features

The edge region of the tail fan is not calcified and is therefore unlike almost all other decapods soft and flexible. Unique within the decapods phyllosomas is the so-called, a larva stage, which is characterized by a flat, sheet-shaped carapace. All Achelata have an enlarged antenna base ( antennal peduncle ).

Named giving feature is the lack of scissors on the first four pairs of walking legs (Greek chelae " scissors ", a-and alpha privative " go" ). Only females possess on the fifth walking legs pair of small scissors. Another exception is the way Justitia longimanus, which carries so-called Subchelae on the first pair of walking legs with which grasping is possible.

System

The Achelata consist of two extant families with a total of 143 species:

• Crawfish ( Palinuridae ) Latreille, 1802, including the fur crawfish ( Synaxidae )
• Slipper lobsters ( Scyllaridae ) Latreille, 1825

Swell

• Gerhard Scholtz and Stefan Richter: Phylogenetic systematics of the reptantian Decapoda (Crustacea, Malacostraca ). In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 113, 1995, pp. 289-328 (pdf 2.7 Mb).