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Lithodes aotearoa

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Lithodes aotearoa
Juvenile above, adult specimen below

Not Threatened (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Lithodidae
Genus: Lithodes
Species:
L. aotearoa
Binomial name
Lithodes aotearoa
Ahyong, 2010[2]
Map
Holotype site: NIWA 34924[3]

Lithodes aotearoa is a species of king crab endemic to New Zealand.[4] It had formerly been confused with L. longispina and L. murrayi, which until 2010 were thought to occur in the region.[5] It is the second most widespread and common lithodid in New Zealand waters after Neolithodes brodiei,[6] and the New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies it as "Not Threatened".[1]

Description

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Lithodes aotearoa is deep-purplish red in colour and has a pyriform carapace.[7] The carapace is covered with prominent, slender spines in juveniles and short, conical spines in adults.[8] Inbetween the spines are a smooth surface sparsely dotted with granules or small secondary spines.[8] Its carapace has been measured as large as 195.0 mm (7.68 in) in postrostral length and 199.1 mm (7.84 in) in width in a male specimen.[9][a] The largest known female carapace measures 190.5 mm (7.50 in) in postrostral length and 183.9 mm (7.24 in) in width.[10][a] Its rearmost pair of walking legs is the longest, and its legspan can be over 130 cm (51 in).[11] It is the largest lithodid known from New Zealand.[9]

Commercial fishing

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Lithodes aotearoa are commercially fished in the waters around New Zealand.[12] They are included, with Neolithodes brodiei, in the total allowable commercial catch of up to 90 t (200,000 lb; 99 short tons) for king crabs under New Zealand's Quota Management System.[12]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Postrostral length excludes the rostrum. Including the rostrum, the carapace is 240.0 mm (9.45 in) long in the male and 230.5 mm (9.07 in) in the female.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Funnell et al. 2023, p. 36.
  2. ^ Ahyong 2010, p. 16.
  3. ^ Ahyong 2010, p. 18.
  4. ^ Ahyong 2010, pp. 28, 29.
  5. ^ Ahyong 2010, p. 26.
  6. ^ Ahyong 2010, pp. 83, 185.
  7. ^ Ahyong 2010, pp. 24, 26.
  8. ^ a b Ahyong 2010, p. 24.
  9. ^ a b Ahyong 2010, p. 28.
  10. ^ a b Ahyong 2010, p. 20.
  11. ^ Ahyong 2010, pp. 26, 28.
  12. ^ a b Fisheries New Zealand 2024, p. 749.

Works cited

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  • Ahyong, Shane T. (2010). The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) (PDF). NIWA Biodiversity Memoirs. Vol. 123. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. pp. 74–83. ISBN 978-0478232851. LCCN 2010497356. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2020.
  • Funnell, Greig; et al. (January 2023). Todd, Amanda (ed.). Conservation status of indigenous marine invertebrates in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021 (PDF) (Report). New Zealand Department of Conservation. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-99-118365-1. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  • "King Crab (KIC)". Fisheries New Zealand. May 2024. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
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