Squat lobster

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iSquat lobster

Munidopsis tridentatus

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Anomura
Superfamily:	Galatheoidea
Family:	Galatheidae and Chirostylidae

Families and Genera

See text

Squat lobsters are decapod crustaceans of the families Galatheidae and Chirostylidae, including the common genera Galathea and Munida. They are not lobsters at all, but are more closely related to porcelain crabs, hermit crabs and then, more distantly, true crabs.

Flesh from this animal is often commercially sold in restaurants as "langostino lobster," or sometimes called merely "lobster" when incorporated in seafood dishes (although both uses are considered by some to be ethically dubious). <ref>David Sharp. "Maine senator attempts to blow whistle on 'impostor lobster'", Associated Press, 2006-10-03.</ref>

The body of a squat lobster is usually flattened, the abdomen is typically folded under itself, and the first pereiopods (front legs) are greatly elongated and armed with long chelae (claws). The fifth pair of pereiopods is usually hidden within the gill chamber, under the carapace, giving squat lobsters the appearance of having only eight pereiopods.

It was long assumed that squat lobsters hide in crevices and catch prey with their long claws. However, recent observations showed the animals to wait on the tops of Lophelia coral reefs and catch fish swimming past.