| Paralithodes Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Paralithodes californiensis | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Lithodidae |
| Subfamily: | Lithodinae |
| Genus: | Paralithodes Brandt, 1848 |
| Type species | |
| Paralithodes brevipes (H. Milne-Edwards & Lucas, 1841)
| |
Paralithodes is a genus of king crabs native to cold waters in the North Pacific Ocean, Okhotsk Sea, Bering Sea and Sea of Japan,1 but with one species also introduced to far northern Europe.2 They are medium-large to very large king crabs, and some species are important to commercial fisheries.1 A 2017 examination of the phylogeny of king crabs suggests that the internal placement of Paralithodes within this family is not fully resolved.3
Species
Paralithodes contains the following species:4
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Paralithodes brevipes (H. Milne-Edwards & Lucas, 1841) | Brown king crab, hanasakigani, spiny king crab | Northwest Pacific, Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea | 5 |
| Paralithodes bishuensis Karasawa & Ando in Karasawa, Mizuno, Hachiya & Ando, 2017 † | Japan (Early Miocene) | 6 | ||
 |
Paralithodes californiensis (Benedict, 1895) | California king crab | East Pacific off California | 7 |
 |
Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815) | Red king crab | North Pacific, Bering Sea, Okhotsk Sea, Sea of Japan; introduced to oceans off far northern Europe | 8 |
 |
Paralithodes platypus (Brandt, 1851) | Blue king crab | North Pacific, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Sea of Japan | 9 |
 |
Paralithodes rathbuni (Benedict, 1895) | California king crab, spiny king crab | East Pacific off California and Baja California | 710 |
References
References
- Stevens 2014, pp. 3–9, 15–16, 23–24.
- Stevens 2014, p. 5.
- Noever & Glenner 2017, p. 307.
- Ahyong, Shane (12 December 2023). "Paralithodes J.F. Brandt, 1848". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 7 May 2026.
- Stevens 2014, pp. 15–16, 82.
- Karasawa et al. 2017, pp. 50–52.
- Stevens 2014, pp. 23–24.
- Stevens 2014, pp. 3–5.
- Stevens 2014, pp. 9–10.
- Keller et al. 2008, p. 38.
Bibliography
- Keller, Aimee A.; et al. (July 2008). The 2005 U.S. West Coast Bottom Trawl Survey of Groundfish Resources off Washington, Oregon, and California: Estimates of Distribution, Abundance, and Length Composition (Report). National Marine Fisheries Service. p. 38. NMFS-NWFSC-93.
- Stevens, Bradley G., ed. (2014). "King Crabs of the World: Species and Distributions". King Crabs of the World (1st ed.). CRC Press. doi:10.1201/b16664. ISBN 978-0-429-06317-6.
- Karasawa, Hiroaki; Mizuno, Yoshiaki; Hachiya, Kiichiro; Ando, Yusuke (March 2017). "Reappraisal of anomuran and brachyuran decapods from the lower Miocene Morozaki Group, Japan, collected by the Tokai Fossil Society" (PDF). Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum (43): 47–69. ISSN 0385-0900. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via the Mizunami Fossil Museum.
- Noever, Christoph; Glenner, Henrik (5 July 2017). "The origin of king crabs: hermit crab ancestry under the magnifying glass" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 182 (2): 300–318. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx033. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2019 – via the University of Copenhagen.
External links
External links
- Media related to Paralithodes at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Paralithodes at Wikispecies