- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Crustacea
- Class: Malacostraca
- Subclass: Eumalacostraca
- Superorder: Eucarida
- Order: Decapoda
- Suborder: Pleocyemata
- Infraorder: Anomura
- Norwegian: anomurer
Characteristics:
Some anomurans are occasionally mistaken for crabs, others look like crayfish. The abdomen possessing a visible tail fan is typical for this infraorder. The squat lobsters use it to swim backwards, the hermit crabs to hold the body inside a shell, while others use it for burrowing.
Taxonomy:
Three superfamilies of anomurans are registered in the Norwegian marine fauna:
- Squat lobsters (Galatheoidea)
- King crabs (Lithodoidea)
- Hermit crabs (Paguroidea)