decapoda

‖prop. n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. de`ka ten + poy`s, podo`s, foot. ] 1. (Zool.) The order of Crustacea which includes the shrimps, lobsters, crabs, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ They have a carapace, covering and uniting the somites of the head and thorax and inclosing a gill chamber on each side, and usually have five (rarely six) pairs of legs. They are divided into two principal groups: Brachyura and Macrura. Some writers recognize a third (Anomura) intermediate between the others. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A division of the dibranchiate cephalopods including the cuttlefishes and squids. See Decacera.