The superfamily that the Stimdromia lateralis belongs to, is the Dromioidea. Dromioidea is said to be the most primitive of all Brachyura, such statement is proved by various scientist with paleontological evidence. The first Dromioidea fossil record ever obtained was from lower Jurassic period. However, even with these evidences, the phylogenetic relationship between the Dromiidae and its sister families is still unclear.
Some argued that Dromioidea are derived from Anomura (hermit crabs), because they both share a few primitive features (Warner, 1977), however, as discussed in the life cycle section, the larval morphology of the two is significantly different.
Dromioidea is also said to be the common ancestor of a few other brachyuran groups (eg. Oxystomata, Dorippidae), with the similar morphology and function of the last 2 pairs of walking legs (Warner,1977).
Warner (1977) stated that in order to exclude all confusion when determining the phylogeny of the Dromioidea, the definition of the true crab (Brachyura) should be made clearer.
Evolution of Brachyura (Warner, 1977).
Solid lines represent history know from fossils, dashed lines are proposed assumptions. |