The true crabs (Brachyura) including Calappidea are one of the most diverse groups of Decapod crustaceans However, despite their great diversity and commercial importance, phylogenetic and classification relationships within Calappidea are still complicated

Two adult specimens of Matuta victor were recently collected in Haifa Bay, Israel. A single specimen of Ashtoret lunaris, collected in 1987 from Haifa Bay, was hitherto the only record of the Matutidae in the Mediterranean Sea.

The first record of the moon crab Ashtoret lunaris (Forskål 1775) is reported for the Turkish waters. Four specimens of A. lunaris were captured in Iskenderun Bay, Northeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey at depth about 17m by gill net on 18 August