Matutidae
Introduction '''Matutidae''' is a family of crabs, sometimes called ''moon crabs'', adapted for swimming or digging. They differ from the swimming crabs of the family Portunidae in that all five pairs of legs are flattened, rather than just the last pair, as in Portunidae. Crabs in the Matutidae are aggressive predators.
Taxonomy Traditionally, this taxon contained the single genus ''Matuta'', and was considered a subfamily of the Calappidae. Now, the group is ranked as a family and six genera (four extant and two fossil) are now recognised. Although placed in the Calappoidea, it is not clear that Matutidae and Calappidae are closely related. *''Ashtoret'' Galil & P. F. Clark, 1994*† ''Eomatuta'' De Angeli & Marchiori, 2009*''Izanami'' Galil & P. F. Clark, 1994*''Matuta'' Weber, 1795*''Mebeli'' Galil & P. F. Clark, 1994*† ''Szaboa'' Müller & Galil, 1998Image:Ashtoret picta (photo Miguel Ramirez).jpg|''Ashtoret picta''Image:Specimen of Izanami curtispina.JPG|''Izanami curtispina''Image:Matuta victor - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC06764.JPG|''Matuta victor''Image:Specimen of Matuta planipes.jpg|''Matuta planipes''
Fossil record ''Szaboa'' is known only from Hungarian fossil deposits of Middle Miocene age. ''Eomatuta'' was described from the Middle Eocene of Italy in 2009.Fossils of ''Ashtoret'' have also been found in Miocene deposits in Japan.
References