The Decapoda is the most familiar and largest of the Crustacean orders and includes the crabs, shrimps, prawns, lobsters and crayfishes. Some of these have been long studied as model organisms, and others are gastronomic delicacies. Even so, their complicated systematics demands ongoing research. Invertebrate Systematics has published many significant studies of the Decapoda, of which 12 are showcased in this virtual issue. Launched to coincide with the 8th International Crustacean Congress in Frankfurt, Germany (18-23 August 2014), this collection spans molecular and morphological phylogenetic and revisionary taxonomic studies of crabs, crayfish, freshwater and marine shrimps.