King crab

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King crabs
Spiny king crab md.jpg
Paralithodes californiensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Order:
Decapoda
Infraorder:
Anomura
Superfamily:
Lithodoidea
Family:
Lithodidae

Samouelle, 1819
Genera[1]

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

King crabs are generally thought to be derived from hermit crab-like ancestors, which may explain the asymmetry still found in the adult forms. This ancestry is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs.[2] Although some doubt still exists about this theory, king crabs are the most widely quoted example of carcinisation among the Decapoda.[2] 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] This is not without controversy as there is a widespread consenus in the scientific community that king crabs are derived from hermit crabs and closely related to pagurid hermit crabs, and therefore a separate superfamily in the classification poorly reflects the phylogenetic relationship of this taxon.[2][3]

Species

Lithodes longispina

Around 121 species are known, in 10 genera:[4]

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Glyptolithodes

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Main article: 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.

Neolithodes

Neolithodes yaldwini

In 2011, the scientists have found Neolithodes yaldwini on the edge of Antarctica, probably as a result of global warming, with major impacts on sediment texture, bioturbation and local faunal diversity.[5][6]

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.[7][8][9] Habitat is the main factor separating the range of blue and red king crabs in the Bering Sea.[10] Red king crabs prefer shallow, muddy or sandy habitats in Bristol Bay and Norton Sound,[10][11] while blue king crabs prefer the deeper areas made up of cobble, gravel and rock that occur around the Pribilof, St. Matthew,[12][13] 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.[9] 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.

Red king crabs make up over 90% of the annual king crab harvest. This crab is in the collection of the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

Paralithodes camtschaticus

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Main article: Paralithodes camtschaticus

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 (1.8 m). Its natural range is the Bering Sea around the Kamchatka Peninsula area, 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.[14][15]

Paralithodes platypus

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Main article: 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.[13] 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

References

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External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
  • Data related to Lithodidae at Wikispecies
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