# Panopeidae

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The **Panopeidae** are a [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) containing 26 genera of morphologically similar [crabs](/source/Crab), often known as "mud crabs". Their [centers of diversity](/source/Center_of_diversity) are the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean.

## Distribution

Most members of the family Panopeidae live in the [Atlantic Ocean](/source/Atlantic_Ocean) or eastern [Pacific Ocean](/source/Pacific_Ocean). Only one species occurs in [Australian](/source/Australia) waters – *[Homoioplax haswelli](/source/Homoioplax_haswelli)*.[2]

## Ecology

The various genera of the Panopeidae are morphologically similar, partly as a result of many instances of [convergent evolution](/source/Convergent_evolution) to similar habitats and food preferences.[3]

Crabs of the family Panopeidae are all free-living (not [commensal](/source/Commensalism) or [parasitic](/source/Parasitic)),[2] and typically live in soft-bottomed parts of the ocean,[3] lending them the common name "mud crabs" (a name also shared by [other organisms](/source/Mud_crab_(disambiguation))). They burrow into the sediment and feed on a variety of marine invertebrates.[3]

## Genera

The [World Register of Marine Species](/source/World_Register_of_Marine_Species) lists these subfamilies and genera:[1]

## References

1. Boyko, Christopher B. (15 December 2022). "Panopeidae Ortmann, 1893". 106765. Retrieved 9 March 2025.

1. P. J. F. Davie (2002). ["Panopeidae"](https://books.google.com/books?id=jr9SR1Cr5BAC&pg=PA372). *Crustacea: Malocostraca: Eucarida (Part 2), Decapoda: Anomura, Brachyura*. Vol. 19. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Canberra, Australia: [CSIRO Publishing](/source/CSIRO_Publishing). pp. 372–374. ISBN 978-0-643-06792-9.

1. C. D. Schubart, J. E. Neigel & D. L. Felder (2000). ["Molecular phylogeny of mud crabs (Brachyura: Panopeidae) from the northwestern Atlantic and the role of morphological statis and convergence"](http://www.biologie.uni-regensburg.de/Zoologie/Heinze/Staff/ChristophSchubart/pdf/MarBiol-2000.pdf). *[Marine Biology](/source/Marine_Biology_(journal))*. **137** (1): 11–18. [doi:10.1007/s002270000325](https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270000325)

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