FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

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Infraorder Brachyura - Homolidae 1083
Infraorder Brachyura - Homolidae Infraorder BRACHYURA
HOMOLIDAE
Deep-water carrier crabs
Diagnostic characters: Carapace longitudinally rectangular; dorsal surface granulose to spinose;
front narrow, usually with 3 long horn-like projections (rostra). Male chelipeds long. Last (fourth)
pair of legs inserted obliquely on carapace and directed upwards, reduced, subchelate to chelate,
modified to carry sponges. All male abdominal segments distinct, movable.
carapace
longitudinally
rectangular
last leg
reduced,
subchelate
to chelate
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: Benthic deep-water crabs, usually occurring in depths below 200 m. Most
species are of minor commercial value, being either too small or only occasionally caught. Only the large
Paromola japonica and P. macrochira have some fishery value. P. macrochira, however, is known only
from Japanese and Taiwanese waters, but not from the Western Central Pacific.
Similar families occurring in the area
The only other crab families which have the last (fourth) pair of legs modified to carry objects are the
Dromiidae (sponge crabs), Homolodromiidae (deep-water sponge crabs), Latreillidae (spindle crabs),
Cymonomidae and Cyclodorippidae (deep-water porter crabs) and Dorippidae (porter crabs); some
Majidae (spider crabs) also have a similar structure. All these families, however, differ markedly in body
shape (not longitudinally rectangular/subrectangular) from the Homolidae and none of them include
species of commercial interest.
Poupiniidae (deep-water hedgehog crabs, non-commercial): in body shape, these recently discovered
deep-water crabs are most similar to the Homolidae, but poupiniids have the fourth (last) walking leg
unmodified (not subchelate or chelate).
References
Guinot, D. and B. Richer de Forges. 1995. Crustacea Decapoda Brachyura: Révision de la famille des Homolidae de
Haan, 1839. In Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, Vol. 13, edited by A. Crosnier. Mém. Mus. natn. Hist.
nat., 163:283-517.
Serène, R. and P. Lohavanijaya. 1973. The Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) collected by the NAGA Expedition,
including a review of the Homolidae. Naga Report, Scientific Results of Marine Investigation of the South China
Sea and the Gulf of Thailand 1959-1961, 4(4), 186 p.