{{Short description|Genus of crabs}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Gordonopsis velutina.png | image_caption = ''Gordonopsis velutina'' | taxon = Gordonopsis | authority = Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995<ref name="Guinot1995">{{cite journal | last1 = Guinot | first1 = Danièle | last2 = Richer de Forges | first2 = Bertrand | year = 1995 | title = Crustacea Decapoda Brachyura: Révision de la famille des Homolidae de Haan, 1839 | journal = Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM | volume = 13 | pages = 283–517}}</ref> }}
'''''Gordonopsis''''' is a genus of deep sea crabs in the family Homolidae.<ref name="Ng2020">{{cite journal | last1 = Ng | first1 = Peter K. L. | last2 = Richer de Forges | first2 = Bertrand | year = 2020 | title = A revision of the deep-sea porter crabs of the genus ''Gordonopsis'' Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Homolidae), with descriptions of five new species | journal = Raffles Bulletin of Zoology | volume = 68 | pages = 267–307}}</ref> The Homolidae are also known as carrier crabs<ref>[http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=440 Family Homolidae - carrier crabs] at sealifebase.org</ref> or porter crabs<ref>[http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=crabs_of_japan&id=42&menuentry=groepen Family Homolidae (Porter crabs)] at the [http://species-identification.org Marine Species Identification Portal]</ref> for their fifth pereiopods (last pair of walking legs), which they use to hold objects in place over the rear half of the carapace in a possible defence mechanism against predators.<ref name="Wicksten">{{cite journal |author=Mary K. Wicksten |year=1985 |title=Carrying behavior in the family Homolidae (Decapoda: Brachyura) |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=476–479 |doi=10.2307/1547919 |jstor=1547919 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Species of ''Gordonopsis'' are found in deep waters of the Indo-West Pacific region.<ref name="Ng2019">{{cite journal | last1 = Ng | first1 = Peter K. L. | last2 = Padate | first2 = Vinay P. | last3 = Saravanane | first3 = Naveenkumar | year = 2019 | title = ''Gordonopsis robusta'', a new species of deep-sea porter crab (Crustacea: Brachyura: Homolidae) from the Andaman Sea, India | journal = Raffles Bulletin of Zoology | volume = 67 | pages = 510–516}}</ref> The genus was erected in 1995 by Danièle Guinot and Bertrand Richer de Forges.<ref name="Guinot1995"/>
==Taxonomy and systematics== The genus ''Gordonopsis'' was established in 1995 by French carcinologists Danièle Guinot and Bertrand Richer de Forges to accommodate the species ''Homola profundorum'', which had previously been classified in the genus ''Homola''.<ref name="Guinot1995"/> The genus name honors Isabelle Gordon of the British Museum (Natural History) for her contributions to crustacean taxonomy.<ref name="Guinot1995"/>
Since its initial description, several new species have been added to the genus.<ref name="Ng2020"/> A major revision of ''Gordonopsis'' was published in 2020 by Peter K. L. Ng and Bertrand Richer de Forges, recognizing 8 valid species:<ref name="Ng2020"/>
* ''Gordonopsis alaini'' Ng & Richer de Forges, 2020 * ''Gordonopsis ceto'' Ng & Richer de Forges, 2020 * ''Gordonopsis hera'' Ng & Richer de Forges, 2020 * ''Gordonopsis mazupo'' Ng & Liu, 2024 * ''Gordonopsis pacifica'' Takeda & Suyama, 2019 * ''Gordonopsis phorcys'' Ng & Richer de Forges, 2020 * ''Gordonopsis profundarum'' (Alcock & Anderson, 1899) (type species) * ''Gordonopsis robusta'' Ng, Padate & Saravanane, 2019 * ''Gordonopsis velutina'' Ng & Richer de Forges, 2020
==Description== Species of ''Gordonopsis'' are characterized by a longitudinally ovate or polygonal carapace that is slightly wider than long.<ref name="Ng2020"/> The rostrum is triangular and flanked by prominent pseudorostral spines.<ref name="Guinot1995"/> The dorsal surface of the carapace is distinctly convex in lateral view and covered in setae. The legs are long and slender, with the fifth pair (pereiopods) subchelate and folding forwards over the carapace.<ref name="Ng2020"/>
==Distribution and ecology== ''Gordonopsis'' crabs are found exclusively in the deep sea, typically at depths of 300 to over 2,000 meters.<ref name="Ng2019"/> The genus has an Indo-West Pacific distribution, with species recorded from the Indian Ocean (Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal) and the western Pacific Ocean (South China Sea, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea).<ref name="Ng2020"/>
Little is known about the ecology and behavior of these crabs due to the difficulties in studying deep-sea fauna. They are presumed to be opportunistic scavengers and predators like other deep-sea crabs.<ref name="Ng2020"/> Some species have been found associated with deep-sea corals.<ref name="Ng2024">{{cite journal | last1 = Ng | first1 = Peter K. L. | last2 = Liu | first2 = Xinming | year = 2024 | title = A new species of the deep-sea porter crab genus ''Gordonopsis'' Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Homolidae) from the South China Sea | journal = Raffles Bulletin of Zoology | volume = 72 | pages = 127–134 | doi = 10.26107/RBZ-2024-0011 | url = https://zoobank.org/References/98CD97F3-3051-4FDB-9AEB-E7403B4FD6D6}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q18582009}}
Category:Dromiacea Category:Crustaceans described in 1995 Category:Decapod genera