king crab

King crabs
Paralithodes californiensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Anomura
Superfamily:	Lithodoidea
Family:	Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819
Genera [1]
Cryptolithodes Glyptolithodes Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Rhinolithodes Sculptolithodes

King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a superfamily of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their flesh, many species are widely caught and sold as food, the most common being the red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus).

King crabs are generally believed to be derived from hermit crab-like ancestors, which may explain the asymmetry still found in the adult forms. Although some doubt still exists about this theory, king crabs are the most widely quoted example of carcinisation among the Decapoda. The evidence for this explanation comes from the asymmetry of the king crab's abdomen, which is thought to reflect the asymmetry of hermit crabs, which must fit into a spiral shell. Although formerly classified among the hermit crabs in the superfamily Paguroidea, king crabs are now placed in a separate superfamily, Lithodoidea ^[1].

Species

Around 113 species are known ^[2], in 14 genera:^[3]

• Cryptolithodes Brandt, 1848
  • Cryptolithodes brevifrons
  • Cryptolithodes sitchensis Brandt, 1853 — umbrella crab
  • Cryptolithodes typicus Brandt, 1848 — butterfly crab
• Glyptolithodes Faxon, 1895
  • Glyptolithodes cristatipes (Faxon, 1893)
• Lithodes Latreille, 1806
  • Lithodes aequispinus J. E. Benedict, 1895 — golden king crab
  • Lithodes agassizii
  • Lithodes antarcticus - Chilean centolla or Chilean king crab
  • Lithodes couesi J. E. Benedict, 1895 — scarlet king crab
  • Lithodes galapagensis Hall & Thatje, 2009 ^[4]
  • Lithodes longispina Sakai, 1971
  • Lithodes maja (Linnaeus, 1758) — Norway king crab
  • Lithodes nintokuae Sakai, 1976
• Lopholithodes Brandt, 1848
  • Lopholithodes foraminatus (Stimpson, 1859) — brown box crab
  • Lopholithodes mandtii Brandt, 1848 — Puget Sound king crab
• Neolithodes A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894
  • Neolithodes agassizii (S. I. Smith, 1882)
  • Neolithodes diomedeae (J. E. Benedict, 1895)
  • Neolithodes grimaldii (A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894)
• Paralithodes Brandt, 1848
  • Paralithodes brevipes (H. Milne Edwards & Lucas, 1841)
  • Paralithodes californiensis (J. E. Benedict, 1895) — California king crab
  • Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815) — red king crab
  • Paralithodes platypus Brandt, 1850 — blue king crab
  • Paralithodes rathbuni (J. E. Benedict, 1895)
• Paralomis White, 1856
  • Paralomis alcockiana Hall & Thatje, 2009 ^[4]
  • Paralomis bouvieri Hansen, 1908
  • Paralomis cubensis Chace, 1939
  • Paralomis haigae Eldredge, 1976
  • Paralomis longipes Faxon, 1893
  • Paralomis makarovi Hall & Thatje, 2009 ^[4]
  • Paralomis manningi A. B. Williams, C. R. Smith & Baco, 2000
  • Paralomis multispina (J. E. Benedict, 1895)
  • Paralomis nivosa Hall & Thatje, 2009 ^[4]
  • Paralomis pacifica Sakai, 1978
  • Paralomis seagranti Eldredge, 1976
  • Paralomis verrilli (J. E. Benedict, 1895)
• Phyllolithodes Brandt, 1848
  • Phyllolithodes papillosus Brandt, 1848 — flatspine triangle crab, heart crab
• Rhinolithodes Brandt, 1848
  • Rhinolithodes wosnessenskii Brandt, 1848 — rhinoceros crab

Glyptolithodes

Glyptolithodes is found chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere, but extending as far north as California, although all its closest relatives live in the Northern Hemisphere. Its single species, G. cristatipes was originally placed in the genus Rhinolithodes.

Lithodes

Lithodes aequispinus

The golden king crab, Lithodes aequispinus, is caught in the Aleutian Chain off the coast of Alaska. The golden king crab is significantly smaller than the red and blue king crabs, averaging 5–8 lb (2–4 kg).^[5] It tastes similar to the red and blue king crabs, though perhaps somewhat sweeter. They are considerably cheaper due to their appearance and size.

Significant populations occur in pockets in the waters off the Pribilof and Shumagin Islands, Shelikof Strait, Prince William Sound and at least as far south as lower Chatham Strait in the south-east, where a regular commercial fishery occurs annually.It should be noted they occur in deeper water than the red king crab, often in depths exceeding 300 fathoms (1800 feet). Juvenile golden king crabs are cryptic and rely on structure-forming sessile invertebrates growing on the sea floor, such as corals, sponges and sea-whips, to provide habitat. These sessile invertebrates are slow-growing and they are at risk in certain areas where commercial fishing by bottom trawling has been common practice. For this reason, large tracts of the sea floor along the Aleutian Island chain have been protected from bottom trawling under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

Lithodes couesi

The scarlet king crab, Lithodes couesi, is not often fished due to its small size and insufficient population to support commercial harvesting.

Lithodes maja

Lithodes maja occurs in the North Atlantic, including Northern Europe and Canada's east coast. It is not abundant enough to support commercial fishery, and is becoming rare in some areas.

Paralithodes

Red (P. camtschaticus) and blue (P. platypus) king crabs are some of the most important fisheries in Alaska, however populations have fluctuated in the past 25 years and some areas are currently closed due to overfishing. The two species are similar in size, shape and life history.^[6][7][8] Habitat is the main factor separating the range of blue and red king crabs in the Bering Sea.^[9] Red king crabs prefer shallow, muddy or sandy habitats in Bristol Bay and Norton Sound,^[10][9] while blue king crabs prefer the deeper areas made up of cobble, gravel and rock that occur around the Pribilof, St. Matthew,^[11][12] St. Lawrence and the Diomede Islands.

Red king crabs have an 11 month brood cycle in their first reproductive year and a 12 month cycle thereafter.^[8] Both red and blue king crabs have planktotrophic larvae that undergo 4 zoeal stages in the water column and a non-feeding, glaucothoe stage which is an intermediate stage which seeks appropriate habitat on the sea floor.

Paralithodes camtschaticus

A pile of Red king crabs, which comprise over 90% of the annual king crab harvest.

The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, is a very large species, sometimes reaching a carapace width of 11 in (28 cm) and a leg span of 6 ft (1.83 m). Its natural range is the Bering Sea, between the Aleutian Islands and St. Lawrence Island. It can now also be found in the Barents Sea and the European Arctic, where it was intentionally introduced and is now becoming a pest.^[13][14]

Paralithodes platypus

The blue king crab, Paralithodes platypus, lives near St. Matthew Island, the Pribilof Islands, and the Diomede Islands, Alaska, and there are populations along the coasts of Japan and Russia.^[15] Blue king crabs from the Pribilof Islands are the largest of all the king crabs, sometimes exceeding 18 lb (8 kg) in weight.^[16]

See also

• Alaskan king crab fishing
• Deadliest Catch

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lithodidae

Wikispecies has information related to: Lithodidae