Varunidae

__NOTOC__Taxobox
name = Varunidae

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Helice tridens"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Crustacea
classis = Malacostraca
subclassis = Eumalacostraca
superordo = Eucarida
ordo = Decapoda
subordo = Pleocyemata
infraordo = Brachyura
zoosectio = Eubrachyura
zoosubsectio = Thoracotremata
superfamilia = Grapsoidea
familia = Varunidae
familia_authority = Milne-Edwards, 1853
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = Several, but see text

Varunidae is a superfamily of thoracotrematan crabs. The delimitation of this family, part of the taxonomically confusing Grapsoidea, are undergoing revision. For long, they were placed at the rank of subfamily in the Grapsidae, but they appear to be closest to "Macropthalmus" and the Mictyridae, which are usually placed in the Ocypodoidea. It may thus be better to merge the latter superfamily with the Grapsoidea, retaining the latter name as it is older.Schubart "et al." (2006)]

That nonwithstanding, the revision of the Grapsoidea (in the narrow, apparently paraphyletic sense) is not fully completed, as many taxa remain to be restudied. Already, several former Grapsidae genera have been moved to the Varunidae, and others are tentatively placed here pending detailed study. Among the most notheworthy of these is the Chinese Mitten Crab, "Eriocheir sinensis".

elected genera

* "Austrohelice" - formerly in "Helice"
* "Chasmagnathus" - tentatively placed here
* "Cyclograpsus" - formerly in Grapsidae
* "Eriocheir" - formerly in Grapsidae
* "Helice" - formerly in Grapsidae
* "Helograpsus" - tentatively placed here
* "Hemigrapsus" - tentatively placed here
* "Metaplax" - tentatively placed here
* "Paragrapsus" - tentatively placed here
* "Ptychognathus"
* "Varuna"
* "Xenograpsus"

elected species

* "Austrohelice crassa" – Tunnelling Mud Crab
* "Cyclograpsus insularum" – Northern Smooth Shore Crab
* "Cyclograpsus integer" – Globose Shore Crab
* "Cyclograpsus lavauxi" – Smooth Shore Crab
* "Eriocheir sinensis" – Chinese Mitten Crab
* "Helice tridens"
* "Helograpsus haswellianus"
* "Hemigrapsus edwardsi" – Common Rock Crab
* "Hemigrapsus crenulatus" – Hairy-handed Crab
* "Hemigrapsus nudus" – Purple Shore Crab
* "Hemigrapsus oregonensis" – Yellow Shore Crab
* "Hemigrapsus sanguineus" – Japanese Shore Crab
* "Hemigrapsus takanoi" Asakura & Watanabe, 2005
* "Xenograpsus ngatama" McLay, 2007

Footnotes

References

* (2006): Molecular phylogeny of grapsoid crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura) and allies based on two mitochondrial genes and a proposal for refraining from current superfamily classification. "Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research" 44(3): 193–199. doi|10.1111/j.1439-0469.2006.00354.x (HTML abstract)