Phylogeny

As with most taxa, the phylogeny of infraorder Anomura is currently a subject for debate and remains ever in flux. Recent refinements of molecular data, obtained from sequencing a 2035 base pair segment of 18S rRNA molecular data, have brought the total number of families within superfamily Galatheoidea to five. Evidence suggests that family Kiwaidae is related more closely to families Chirostylidae, Galatheidae and Porcellanidae than family Aeglidae, as illustrated by the following cladogram (Macpherson, et al. 2005).

Cladogram illustrating a proposed phylogenetic relationship between the families of superfamily Galatheoidea, as determined by 18S rRNA data. (Courtesy Zoosystema © 2005)