Preliminary Phylogenetic Analysis of Generic Relationships Within the Callianassidae and Ctenochelidae (Decapoda : Thalassinidea : Callianassoidea)

A phylogenetic analysis of 106 representatives in the thalassinidean families Ctenochelidae and Callianassidae, based on 93 adult morphological characters, was performed to investigate the interrelationships between the 25 currently recognized genera. The callianideid, Callianidea typa H. Milne Edwards, was used as the out-group. The two in-group families, Ctenochelidae and Callianassidae, were both shown to be monophyletic. Monophyly of the four ctenochelid subfamilies (Anacalliacinae, Callianopsinae, Ctenochelinae, and the recently suggested Gourretinae) was not supported. Three callianassid subfamilies (Callianassinae, Cheraminae, and Eucalliacinae) were found to be monophyletic but with species compositions different from those presently understood. The fourth callianassid subfamily (Callichirinae) is paraphyletic and ancestral to the other subfamilies. Several species described as species of Callianassa s.l. were found to belong to other genera. Recent diagnosis of several small genera from the Americas and Japan has left larger traditional genera such as Callianassa s.l. and Cheramus paraphyletic. Glypturus is apparently paraphyletic as presently diagnosed. The taxonomic position of some species remains enigmatic largely because of missing data. A listing of all valid genera and species of Ctenochelidae and Callianassidae at the time of publication is provided.