Bouvier, 1898
Carapace broadly transverse, subquadrilateral. Dorsal surface with the regions seldom well defined. Antero-lateral margins dentate either straight or slightly arched. Fronto-orbital width great. Front of moderate length, not at all deflexed, dentate. Interantennular septum as a thin plate. Orbits and eyes large. Orbits with two or three deep gaps in the upper border. Buccal cavern quadrate. Third maxillipeds not covering anteriorly the buccal cavern; ischium strongly produced forward on the inner side; merus small, subtriangular, with a notch on the inner distal side for the articulation of the palp; exopodite rather broad, not concealed. Afferent branchial channels opening at bases of chelipeds. Efferent channels at antero-external angles of the buccal cavity. Chelipeds of moderate size, often unequal in the male, usually tuberculate or granulate. Ambulatory legs: P2-P4 long, slender, and rough; P5 either very short, subdorsal, smooth, or similar in position and ornament to the other legs, and near the size of P2. Male abdomen much narrower than sternum. Female openings sternal, located very anteriorly. Male openings coxo-sternal. (Guinot 1998)
Subfamilies treated:
subfamily Crossotonotinae Moosa & Serène, 1981
subfamily Palicinae Moosa & Serène, 1981