The independent lineages of the 2 superfamilies of hermit crabs, the Coenobitoidea and Paguroidea, were originally hypothesized from evidence gained in the study of larval development of a very few species. Subsequent studies showed that the proposed relationships among thalassinoids-coenobitoids and paguroids-galatheids are not as probable as once believed. Hermit crab phylogeny (including the lithodids) is re-examined using cladistic methodology. The families Pomatochelidae, Diogenidae, Coenobitidae, Paguridae, Parapaguridae and Lithodidae are reunited under the superfamily Paguroidea, infraorder Anomala.