Introduction
Taxonomy
is relatively an unexciting, but supremely an important function of
ordering nature into a practical and generally useful system. Systematics
in the wide sense also has the more challenging task of understanding
the mechanisms of phylogeny. During the past two centuries, the classification
of decapods particularly crabs passed through a series of changes.
Hence, there is an urgent need to confirm the identities of each species
by determining the current synonymy of each species through modern
taxonomic approaches.
Studies
on Brachyuran crabs of Indian seas were initiated by Milne Edwards
(1834), Henderson (1882) and de man (1887-88 a, b, c) and they mostly
dealt with deep sea species. The west coast of India is well known
for its faunistic richness and diversity. A comprehensive study on
the Brachyuran fauna of this area had been attempted in this area
by Borradalile (1900-1906), Pillai(1951), Chhapgar (1957) and Sankarankutty
(1961). However followed by this work quite a lot of changes have
come into the taxonomy of crabs.
In view
of this the present research is undertaken. The principal goal of
the present research is to revise the classification of the brachyuran
crabs in the form of a CD corresponding to the state of knowledge
at the end of this century. The CD includes a critical review of the
present state of knowledge of the classification of crabs, and revision
of the classification of the brachyuran crabs above the species level.
The crabs are described using a wider range of systematic characters,
named according to the rules of the zoological nomenclature (International
code of Zoological Nomenclature) and properly ranked and arranged
in the latest classificatory system. There are about 254 species of
crabs belongs to 120 genera under 24 families have been recorded along
the west coast of India. Among these, the names of 100 species have
been revised. All species are illustrated with photographs and text
figures. In addition, key to the families, subfamilies genera and
species are provided for easy identification.
