reached 492 t in 2008. Chilean squat lobster fisheries initially targeted Cervimunida johni, beginning in 1953. By the mid-1960s, effort had largely switched to P. monodon. In an effort to conserve stocks, the Chilean government instituted quotas for squat lobsters, and the fishery is closely monitored. In New Zealand, Munida gregaria has been considered as a potential fisheries resource, particularly to feed farmed Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Classification In early classifications, squat lobsters were placed together in the superfamily Galatheoidea alongside the porcelain crabs of the family Porcellanidae. In the early 21st century, however, the assumption that the various families of squat lobster were closely related began to be questioned. Although superficially similar, there were few morphological characteristics that united the squat lobsters to the exclusion of other families in the Anomura. With extensive DNA sequence data, it is now accepted that squat lobsters do not make up a single, monophyletic group. Rather, the Chirostylidae and Kiwaidae are only relatively distantly related to the other squat lobsters, and are closer to hermit crabs and king crabs (Paguroidea), the mole crabs in the superfamily Hippoidea, and the small families Lomisidae and Aeglidae. Squat lobsters are therefore divided among two superfamilies: Chirostyloidea – containing the families Chirostylidae, Eumunididae, and Kiwaidae Galatheoidea – containing the squat lobster families Galatheidae, Munididae, Munidopsidae, and the porcelain crabs in the family Porcellanidae They contain a total of around 60 genera, divided into over 900 recognised species; more than 120 undescribed species are also thought to exist. The centre of diversity for squat lobsters is the "coral triangle", or Indo-Australian Archipelago, especially in the region of New Caledonia (with more than 300 species) and the region of Indonesia and the Philippines. Fossil galatheoid squat lobsters have been found in strata dating back to the Middle Jurassic of Europe, but no fossils can be confidently assigned to the Chirostyloidea, although Pristinaspina may belong either in the family Kiwaidae or Chirostylidae. References External links Anomura Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Arthropod common names