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Glypheidea

Glypheidea is an infraorder of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, comprising a number of fossil forms and the two extant (living) genera Neoglyphea and Laurentaeglyphea: The infraorder was thought to be extinct until a living species, Neoglyphea inopinata, was discovered in 1975. They are now considered "living fossils", with over 256 fossil species discovered, and just two extant species.

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Jul 3, 2026
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Glypheidea
Temporal range:
fossil Mecochirus longimanatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Clade: Reptantia
Infraorder: Glypheidea
Winckler, 1882
Superfamilies

Glypheidea is an infraorder of lobster-like decapod crustaceans, comprising a number of fossil forms and the two extant (living) genera Neoglyphea and Laurentaeglyphea:1 The infraorder was thought to be extinct until a living species, Neoglyphea inopinata, was discovered in 1975. They are now considered "living fossils", with over 256 fossil species discovered, and just two extant species.2

Phylogeny

Glypheidea belongs to the clade Reptantia within the order Decapoda, although its exact placement within Reptantia is difficult to determine.3 Some phylogenetic studies consider Glypheidea to be most closely related to the infraorder Astacidea, which consists of the lobsters and crayfish,2 whereas other studies instead consider Glypheidea to be more closely related to the infraorder Polychelida, a group of deep-sea blind lobsters.3

Taxonomy

Glypheoidea Winckler, 1882
  • † Chimaerastacidae Amati, Feldmann & Zonneveld, 2004
    • † Chimaerastacus Amati, Feldmann & Zonneveld, 2004
  • Glypheidae Winckler, 1882
    • † Cedrillosia Garassino, Artal & Pasini, 2009
    • † Glyphea von Meyer, 1835
    • Laurentaeglyphea Forest, 2006
    • Neoglyphea Forest & de Saint Laurent, 1975
    • † Squamosoglyphea Beurlen, 1930
    • † Trachysoma Bell, 1858
  • †Litogastridae Karasawa, 2013
    • †Lissocardia von Meyer, 1851 (= Piratella Assmann, 1927)
    • †Litogaster von Meyer, 1847
    • †Paralitogaster Glaessner, 1969
    • †Pseudoglyphea Oppel, 1861
    • †Tridactylastacus Feldmann et al., 2012
  • † Mecochiridae Van Straelen, 1924
    • † Huhatanka Feldmann & West, 1978
    • † Jabaloya Garassino, Artal & Pasini, 2009
    • † Mecochirus Germar, 1827
    • † Meyeria M'Coy, 1849
    • † Praeatya Woodward, 1869
    • † Selenisca von Meyer, 1847
  • † Platychelidae Glaessner, 1969
    • † Platychela Glaessner, 1931
    • † Platypleon Van Straelen, 1936
† Erymoidea Van Straelen, 1924
  • † Erymidae Van Straelen, 1924
    • † Clytiella Glaessner, 1931
    • † Clytiopsis Bill, 1914
    • † Enoploclytia M'Coy, 1849
    • † Eryma von Meyer, 1840
    • † Galicia Garassino & Krobicki, 2002
    • † Palaeastacus Bell, 1850
    • † Paraclytiopsis Oravec, 1962
    • † Protoclytiopsis Birshtein, 1958
    • † Pustulina Quenstedt, 1857
    • † Stenodactylina Beurlen, 1928
  • † Pemphicidae Van Straelen, 1928
    • † Pemphix Meyer, 1840
    • † Pseudopemphix Wüst, 1903
    • † Oosterinkia Klompmaker and Fraaije, 2011
† Glaessnericaroidea Karasawa, Schweitzer & Feldmann, 20134
References

References

  1. Sammy De Grave; N. Dean Pentcheff; Shane T. Ahyong; et al. (2009). "A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Suppl. 21: 1–109. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-06.
  2. Heather D. Bracken-Grissom; Shane T. Ahyong; Richard D. Wilkinson; Rodney M. Feldmann; Carrie E. Schweitzer; Jesse W. Breinholt; Matthew Bendall; Ferran Palero; Tin-Yam Chan; Darryl L. Felder; Rafael Robles; Ka-Hou Chu; Ling-Ming Tsang; Dohyup Kim; Joel W. Martin; Keith A. Crandall (July 2014). "The Emergence of Lobsters: Phylogenetic Relationships, Morphological Evolution and Divergence Time Comparisons of an Ancient Group (Decapoda: Achelata, Astacidea, Glypheidea, Polychelida)". Systematic Biology. 63 (4): 457–479. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syu008. hdl:10550/106842. PMID 24562813.
  3. Wolfe, Joanna M.; Breinholt, Jesse W.; Crandall, Keith A.; Lemmon, Alan R.; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Timm, Laura E.; Siddall, Mark E.; Bracken-Grissom, Heather D. (24 April 2019). "A phylogenomic framework, evolutionary timeline and genomic resources for comparative studies of decapod crustaceans". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 286 (1901). doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0079. PMC 6501934. PMID 31014217.
  4. "Glaessnericaroidea Karasawa, Schweitzer & Feldmann, 2013 †". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  5. "Glaessnericaridae Karasawa, Schweitzer & Feldmann, 2013 †". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 25 September 2025.