Polydectine
Guides
Xanthidae
mud crabs, pebble crabs, rubble crabs, gorilla crabs, round crabs
Xanthidae is a large family of true crabs commonly known as mud crabs, pebble crabs, rubble crabs, or gorilla crabs. Members of this family are frequently brightly colored and many species are highly poisonous, containing potent neurotoxins similar to tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin that are not destroyed by cooking. The family represents one of the most species-rich crab families, though many former members have been reclassified to other families. Some species exhibit distinctive behaviors such as anemone-carrying, which originated in the Eocene epoch approximately 40 million years ago.