Wildlife
The Decapoda is an order of crustaceans which contains all the familiar species such as hermit crabs, lobsters and prawns. All the members of the group have ten legs, hence the scientific name (deca = ten, pod = foot). In many species the front pair of legs has a set of pincers on the end.
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Why the tiger needs the crab
The crabs of the sunderbans create a network of life-giving tunnels to the roots of the mangrove.
The crabs of the sunderbans create a network of tunnels that bring oxygen and nutrients to the roots of the mangrove, nourishing the herbivores which in turn nourish the tigers.
Lobsters with a future
Work in Cornwall is helping to conserve and increase lobster numbers.
Work in Cornwall is helping to conserve and increase lobster numbers.
Lobster design
Steve Backshall shows off the design features of some underwater adventurers.
Steve Backshall shows off the design features of some underwater adventurers.
Top scavengers
In the deep black depths of Lake Malawi, crabs take the bait.
In the deep black depths of Lake Malawi, crabs take the bait.
The Crabs, lobsters and shrimp can be found in a number of locations including: Great Barrier Reef. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
Learn more about the other animals and plants that also form these fossils.
Exceptional preservationThe decapods or Decapoda (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crayfish, crabs, lobsters, prawns and shrimp. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is estimated to contain nearly 15,000 species in around 2,700 genera, with approximately 3,300 fossil species. Nearly half of these species are crabs, with the shrimp (c. 3000 species) and Anomura (including hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, squat lobsters: (c. 2500 species), making up the bulk of the remainder. The earliest fossil decapod is the Devonian Palaeopalaemon.
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Spider crabs
Hot vent crabs
White-clawed crayfish
Hermit crabs