Pisidae Dana, 1851

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 219

Family Pisidae Dana, 1851

Pisids generally are found on rocky sea floors but Loxorhynchus spp. may cross open sand or areas with worm tubes, especially at night. The group includes some of the most heavily decorated of the spider crabs and Loxorhynchus grandis , the largest crab in the area. Ng et al. (2008: 102) and De Grave et al. (2009) considered this group to be a subfamily of the Epialtidae . They noted that either the pisids and epialtids have poorly developed or no orbits, yet commented that "the need to separate obviously related genera...does seem logical.” The pisids, if one includes "unusual genera" ( Ng et al. 2008: 98), seem to be a heterogeneous group. Garth (1958: 249) noted that the shape of the male first pleopod, a diagnostic feature of many brachyuran families, is highly diverse in the pisids. The shape of the first maxilliped, broad basal segment of the antenna and bifurcate rostrum seem to be consistent within the group in the northeastern Pacific ( Hendrickx & Cervantes, 2003).

Northeastern Pacific pisids generally are setose, at least as juveniles. Many species possess club-shaped setae on the carapace and pereopods. The carapace has lateral spines and raised knobs, bosses or prominences. Their pereopods are relatively more heavily calcified than those of the inachids.