Classification: Oregonia gracilis
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Oregoniidae
Genus: Oregonia
Species:
Oregonia gracilis
The graceful decorator crab is in the domain Eukarya because it is a multicellular organism. Also, because it is a heterotroph, and relies on other organisms for its own nourishment, it belongs in the Animalia kingdom (Myers 2001). The graceful decorator crab is in the phylum Arthropoda, some of the characteristics it shares in this phylum are; bilateral symmetry, segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and also they are protostomes (Myers 2001). The class Malacostraca is known for their calcified, hard exoskeleton, which is very common for crustaceans. It is in the order Decapoda, which literally means “ten-footed” (Myers 2001). The graceful decorator crab is in the family Oregoniidae, along which has four genera (Myers 2001). The genus name is Oregonia which includes it under organism covered with small protusions. The name Oregonia gracilis literally translates to graceful decorator crab, and is a very unique animal.
This phylogenetic tree above shows different synapomorphies separating different phylum of the Animalia Kingdom. As you can see above, the nematode is the Arthropoda’s closest related relative. To learn more and explore the similarities between arthropods and nematodes check out a specific species; filiarial nematode.
This phylogenetic separates the phylum Arthropoda, down to
the species Oregonia
gracilis. This
tree is based on all morphological differences between these
specific organisms, while many of these organisms are very
different, they share some of the same characteristics.