Genus Catapagurus A. Milne­Edwards, 1880

Catapagurus A, Milne­Edwards, 1880: 46; Smith, 1882: 14; Henderson, 1888: 75 (in part); A. Milne­Edwards & Bouvier, 1893: 125; Alcock, 1905: 114; Terao, 1914: 469; Forest & de Saint Laurent, 1968: 151; de Saint Laurent, 1970: 1456; Miyake, 1978: 141 (in part); Miyake, 1982: 232 (in part); McLaughlin, 1997: 494; de Saint Laurent & McLaughlin, 2000: 145; Asakura, 2001: 825.

Hemipagurus Smith, 1881a: 143; Smith, 1881b: 422; Asakura, 2001: 830.

Type species. Catapagurus sharreri A. Milne­Edwards, 1880 by monotypy; gender masculine.

Diagnosis. Eleven pairs of biserial gills. Shield with rostral lobe usually only weakly produced. Ocular acicles simple, slender, usually elongate. Maxillule with external lobe of endopod rudimentary or vestigial. Crista dentata of third maxilliped generally reduced, 1 accessory tooth.

Chelipeds long, slender; right stronger, but not necessarily longer than left, sometimes exhibiting certain amount of sexual dimorphism. Second and third pereopods with dactyls and propodi similar; dactyls long and slender or distinctly blade­shaped. Fourth pereopods varying from subchelate to weakly semichelate; propodal rasp consisting of 1 row of corneous scales; preungual process usually well developed at base of claw.

Males with moderate to long sexual tube developed from coxa of right fifth pereopod and directed toward exterior, sometimes curving over abdomen dorsally; coxa of left sometimes with small papilla produced. Male unpaired left pleopods usually uniramous, varying in number from 2 (pl 3–4) to 3 (pl 3–5). Females with paired gonopores, without paired pleopods, with pleopods 2–4 biramous, pl 5 present and uniramous, or absent.

Telson with lateral indentations suggesting division into anterior and posterior portions; acutely or roundly subtriangular posterior lobes separated by moderately narrow to broad V or U­shaped median cleft; terminal margins perpendicular to oblique, armed or unarmed.