Lithodes Explained
Lithodes is a genus of king crabs. Today there are about 30 recognized species, but others formerly included in this genus have been moved to Neolithodes and Paralomis.[1] They are found in oceans around the world, ranging from shallow to deep waters, but mostly at depths of . They are restricted to relatively cold waters, meaning that they only occur at high depths at low latitudes, but some species also shallower at high latitudes. They are medium to large crabs, and some species are or were targeted by fisheries.[2] [3] [4]
Species
Lithodes contains the following species:[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|
| Lithodes aequispinus | Golden king crab | North Pacific |
| Lithodes ahyongi | | Seram Sea |
| Lithodes aotearoa | | New Zealand |
| Lithodes australiensis | | Southeastern Australia |
| Lithodes ceramensis | | Seram Sea |
| Lithodes chaddertoni | | Indian Ocean (Naturaliste Plateau or Broken Ridge) |
| Lithodes confundens | | Southwestern Atlantic |
| Lithodes couesi | Scarlet king crab | Northeastern Pacific Ocean and Burdwood Bank |
| Lithodes ferox | Fierce king crab | Southeastern Atlantic Ocean |
| Lithodes formosae | | Taiwan |
| Lithodes galapagensis | | The Galápagos Islands |
| Lithodes jessica | | Southern Lord Howe Rise |
| Lithodes longispina | | Japan and Taiwan |
| Lithodes macquariae | | Macquarie Island, the Auckland Islands, and Peter I Island |
| Lithodes maja | Norway king crab, northern stone crab | North Atlantic |
| Lithodes mamillifer | | Between South Africa and Madagascar |
| Lithodes manningi | | Dominica and French Guiana |
| Lithodes megacantha | | French Polynesia |
| Lithodes murrayi | Subantarctic stone crab | Southwestern Indian Ocean |
| Lithodes nintokuae | | Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain |
| Lithodes panamensis | | Pacific coast of South America from Panama to northern Chile |
| Lithodes paulayi | | Guam |
| Lithodes rachelae | | Southern coast of Australia |
| Lithodes richeri | | Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Australia |
| Lithodes robertsoni | | New Zealand |
| Lithodes santolla | Southern king crab, Chilean king crab, centolla | Southern Cone |
| Lithodes turkayi | | Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile, Southern Atlantic Ocean near the Falkland Islands, and Bellingshausen Sea |
| Lithodes turritus | | Japan, the East China Sea, Taiwan, and the Philippines |
| Lithodes unicornis | | Valdivia Bank, Walvis Ridge |
| Lithodes wiracocha | | Northwestern coast of Peru | |
Notes and References
- Ahyong . Shane T. . Shane T. Ahyong . 2023 . Lithodes Latreille, 1806 . 106845 . 4 October 2024.
- Stevens, B.G. (2014). King Crabs of the World: Biology and Fisheries Management. CRC Press. .
- Macpherson, E. (1988). Revision of the family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in the Atlantic Ocean. Monografías de Zoología Marina 2: 1-153.
- Emmerson, W.D. (2016). A Guide to, and Checklist for, the Decapoda of Namibia, South Africa, vol. 2. Cambridge Scholar Publishing.
