On the marine sister groups of the freshwater crabs "Crustacea] Decapoda] Brachyura#

Freshwater crab sister group relationships with marine eubrachyuran families were investigated[ A morphology!based cladistic analysis was conducted on representatives of the freshwater crab families Deckeniidae\ Gecarcinucidae\ Parathelphusidae\ Potamidae\ Potamonautidae\ Pseudothelphusidae\ and Trichodactylidae using a disparate assemblage of marine heterotreme and thoracotreme brachyurans as possible sister groups[ The monophyly of the freshwater crabs sensu lato is falsi_ed[ The family Trichodactylidae and the marine portunid subfamily Carcininae form basal groups within the superfamily Portunoidea[ The monophyly of the Pseudothelphusidae and the Paleotropical freshwater crab families is supported\ and this clade is the sister group of the Thoracotremata "Gecarcinidae\ Grapsidae s[l[\ and Ocypodoidea#[ The origin\ groundplan\ and diversi_cation of freshwater crabs are discussed in the context of previously published scenarios of their evolution[ Key words] Eubrachyuran phylogeny Ð freshwater crabs Ð cladistic analysis