Lithodes australiensis

Lithodes australiensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Anomura
Family:	Lithodidae
Genus:	Lithodes
Species:	L. australiensis
Binomial name
Lithodes australiensis Ahyong, 20101

Holotype site¹

Lithodes australiensis is a species of king crab.¹ They live in southeastern Australia, known as far north as Cape Hawke and as far south as the South Tasman Rise.¹ They have been found at depths between 540–1,312 m (1,772–4,304 ft), but they typically live between 1,000–1,100 m (3,300–3,600 ft).¹

Lithodes australiensis is deep-red in colour.¹ It has a pyriform carapace featuring prominent, slender spines sparsely interspersed with granules on its dorsal surface.¹ The carapace has been measured as large as 199.7 mm (7.86 in)^a in length and 127.5 mm (5.02 in) in width in males.^1b It has a prominent rostrum, comprising about half of the carapace length in juveniles and about one-third in adults.¹ Its chelipeds and walking legs have major spines separated by a smooth or mostly smooth surface, and the chelipeds are around half the length of the walking legs.¹ The chelae bear small spines and tubercles, and the fingers have tufts of golden setae arranged in rows.¹ Its frontmost pair of walking legs tend to be smaller than the other two, and all of its dactyli are curved.¹ On its underside, the third through fifth segments of its abdomen have a median plate featuring nodules.¹ Toward the posterior, its abdomen has a wrinkly second segment, and toward the front, it has a rounded telson.¹