Hexapodidae is a
family of
crabs, the only family in the superfamily
Hexapodoidea. It has traditionally been treated as a
subfamily of the family
Goneplacidae, and was originally described as a subfamily of
Pinnotheridae. Its members can be distinguished from all other true crabs by the reduction of the
thorax, such that only seven
sternites are exposed, and only four pairs of
pereiopods are present. Not counting the enlarged pair of
claws, this leaves only six walking legs, from which the type genus
Hexapus, and therefore the whole family, takes its name. Some
anomuran "crabs", such as
porcelain crabs and
king crabs also have only four visible pairs of legs. With the exception of
Stevea williamsi, from
Mexico, all the extant members are found either in the
Indo-Pacific oceans, or around the coast of
Africa.
