Stalk-eyed mud crab

The stalk-eyed mud crab, Macrophthalmus hirtipes, is a marine large-eyed crab of the family Macrophthalmidae, endemic to New Zealand including Campbell Island. It grows to around 30 millimetres (1.2 in) shell width. It is either the only species in the subgenus Hemiplax and the most basal species in the genus Macrophthalmus, or the only species in the sister genus Hemiplax.

Stalk-eyed mud crab
Stalk-eyed mud crab at Manukau Harbour in Auckland
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Macrophthalmidae
Genus: Macrophthalmus
Species:
M. hirtipes
Binomial name
Macrophthalmus hirtipes
(Jacquinot in Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846)
Synonyms 
  • Cleistostoma hirtipes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846)
  • Macrophthalmus (Hemiplax) hirtipes (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846)
  • Metaplax hirtipes Heller, 1865
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