Five completely separate groups of crustaceans independently evolved into what we commonly refer to as “crabs.” This phenomenon is called “carcinization.”
Evolution of crabs – history and deconstruction of a prime example of convergence Compared with the elongate bodies of shrimps or lobsters, crabs are characterised by a compact body organisation with a depressed, short carapace and a ventrally folded pleon. The evolutionary transformation from a lobster-like crustacean towards a crab is called ‘carcinization’ and has […]