Taxonomy
Examination of K. hirsuta's morphology places the species within the superfamily Galatheoidea Samouelle 1819 ("squat lobsters"), previously regarded to have consisted of two families: the Chirostylidae and Galatheidae. For the most part, K. hirsuta represents a typical squat lobster. However, according to its discoverers, Macpherson, et al. (2005), K. hirsuta also displays a number of distinctive morphological characteristics that justify placing it in within its own novel family Kiwaidae and genus Kiwa.
Molecular data (18s rRNA) not only corroborates this determination, but also elucidates the phylogenetic relationships between family Kiwaidae and other families within superfamily Galatheoidea. At this point, K. hirsuta remains the only described species within family Kiwaidae, though another undescribed species does exist (Baba, et al. 2008).
Taxonomic Hierarchy
| Taxon level | Taxon name | Defining characteristic |
| Kingdom | Animalia | Eukaryotic without cell walls |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | Jointed appendages |
| Subphylum | Crustacea | Nauplius (two-segmented larva consisting of head and telson) |
| Class | Malacostraca | Uropods (spatulate tail appendages) |
| Subclass | Eumalacostraca | Well-developed carapace (shell) |
| Superorder | Eucarida | Carapace fused to all body segments |
| Order | Decapoda | Ten legs |
| Suborder | Pleocyemata | Fertilized eggs incubated by female |
| Infraorder | Anomura | Reduced fifth pereopod (thoracic leg) |
| Superfamily | Galatheoidea | Pliable carapace; well-developed rostrum |
| Family | Kiwaidae | Invisible fifth pereopod; reduced eyes |
| Genus | Kiwa | Only known genus within family |
| Species | Kiwa hirsuta | Only described species within genus |
(Courtesy Integrated Taxonomic Information System).