Ocypodinae Rafinesque, 1815

Shih, Hsi-Te, Ng, Peter K. L., Davie, Peter J. F., Schubart, Christoph D., Türkay, Michael, Naderloo, Reza, Jones, Diana & Liu, Min-Yun, 2016, Systematics of the family Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea: Brachyura), based on phylogenetic relationships, with a reorganization of subfamily rankings and a review of the taxonomic status of Uca Leach, 1814, sensu lato and its subgenera, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 64, pp. 139-175 : 145

Subfamily Ocypodinae Rafinesque, 1815

Ocypodidae Rafinesque, 1815: 96 . Type genus: Ocypode Weber, 1795 .

Ucainae Dana, 1851: 289 . Type genus: Uca Leach, 1814 .

Diagnosis. Carapace deep, subquadrilateral to pentagonal, never cordiform, not swollen; fronto-orbital distance more than 9/10 of maximum carapace width, front narrow to relatively narrow; regions typically indistinct, grooves between regions shallow or indistinct; anterolateral margins straight or slightly arched; orbital floor with distinct tubercle at inner corner adjacent to antennule; eyestalks relatively short to very long, cornea terminal, may have distinct distal ornament (e.g., stylus or long setae); buccal cavern quadrate, not much longer than wide, third maxillipeds completely covering it when closed; ischium and merus of third maxilliped quadrate, fringed with scattered short setae on inner surface; exopod of third maxilliped not concealed by endopod, with or without flagellum; chelipeds unequal in adult males ( Ocypode ), sometimes remarkably so (e.g., Afruca , Uca ), equal or slightly unequal in females, surfaces of male merus, carpus and palm smooth or armed with short spines or tubercles; first to fourth ambulatory legs with scattered long and/or short setae on ventral surface of merus, propodus and dactylus, never dense or obscuring margins; brush of long setae present between bases of coxae of second and third ambulatory legs, leading into branchial cavity; male pleon with all somites free; pleonal locking mechanism absent.

Remarks. The subfamily Ocypodinae is now composed of two BF genera Ocypode and Afruca , and one NF genus Uca . Since the type genus of the subfamily Ucinae Dana, 1851 , is Uca s. str., this subfamily has to be treated as a junior subjective synonym of Ocypodinae . Our results agree with previous studies ( Levinton et al., 1996; Sturmbauer et al., 1996) that the three genera are closely related, although their morphology appears remarkably different, at least superficially. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the key morphological characters of the subfamily.