Family Lithodidae

FAMILY LITHODIDAE

Taxon Authority Samouelle, 1819

Common Names Stone and king crabs.

Species List Cryptolithodes sitchensis Brandt, 1853 umbrella crab Cryptolithodes typicus Brandt, 1849 butterfly crab Lithodes aequispinus Benedict, 1895 golden king crab Lithodes couesi Benedict, 1895 scarlet king crab Lopholithodes foraminatus (Stimpson, 1862) brown box crab Lopholithodes mandtii Brandt, 1849 Puget Sound king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815) red king crab Paralomis multispina (Benedict, 1895) spiny paralomis Paralomis verrilli (Benedict, 1895) Verrill's paralomis Phyllolithodes papillosus Brandt, 1849 heart crab Rhinolithodes wosnessenskii Brandt, 1849 rhinoceros crab

Geographic Range Worldwide.

Morphology carapace dorsoventrally flattened, carapace as long as or wider than long; carapace with linea anomurica; outer orbital spines absent; rostrum overreaching distal corneal margin, or not overreaching bases of corneas. eye cornea well developed; ocular acicles absent. antenna 1 flagellum biramous. maxilliped 3 bases widely separated; crista dentata and accessory tooth present; dactylus simple. pereopod 1 chelate; cheliped right largest. Pereopods 2 to 4 all of similar form; 2-4 with basis and ischium fused; dactyli of pereopods 2 to 3 simple. Pereopod 3 about the same length as pereopod 2; pereopods 3 dactyli and propodi of right and left similar. Pereopod 4 simple. Sternum partially divided; sternite of pereopod 5 reduced, contiguous with preceding sternite abdomen reduced, carried under thorax, abdomen with distinct somites. Epimera (pleura) absent. Male pleopods 3-5 absent; none modified as gonopods. Male with no other sexual modifications; female with first pleopods paired and modified as gonopods. Uropods absent. telson present, entire.

References

McLaughlin, P., S. Ahyong & J.K. Lowry (2002 onwards). 'Anomura: Families.' Version: 2 October 2002. http://crustacea.net'. CRYPTOLITHODES SITCHENSIS

Taxon Authority Brandt, 1853

Common Names umbrella crab

Geographic Range Sitka, Alaska to Point Loma, California. Type locality Sitka, Alaska. The species is uncommon south of Point Conception.

Habitat Rocky reefs and tide pools, lowest intertidal zone to 17 m

Morphology rostrum: widened distally, usually ending in distinct anterolateral angles, Sometimes with small median tooth carapace: about 1.3 times as wide and long, with lateral extensions almost as long as rostrum, with dorsal tubercles and low teeth along lateral margins. pereopods: Chelipeds smooth and unequal. Walking legs smooth and flat. abdomen: flattened and triangular .

Size Carapace length: to 68 mm.

Coloration Highly variable: orange, mottled, ivory, red,

Synonyms Cryptolithodes alta-fissura Bate, 1864

Remarks Until recently, Lithodidae comprised two subfamilies, Hapalogastrinae Brandt, 1850, and Lithodinae Samouelle, 1819. McLaughlin et al. (2007) raised Hapalogastrinae and Lithodinae each to family level, within a superfamily Lithodoidea

References basis of record: McLaughlin, Patsy A.; Komai, Tomoyuki; Lemaitre, Rafael; Listyo Rahayu, Dwi. (2010). Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) Part I – Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 23: 5-107

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

Wicksten, M.K. 2009. Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces. UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography Library, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sk9t2dz

CRYPTOLITHODES TYPICUS

Taxon Authority Brandt, 1848

Common Names butterfly crab

Geographic Range Amchitka Island, Alaska to Santa Rosa Island, California. Type locality - northern California

Habitat Often in shell rubble by rocky reefs, low intertidal to 45 m

Morphology rostrum: narrowing distally, end rounded. carapace: about twice as wide as long, with lateral expansions not reaching midlength of rostrum, with dorsal tubercles and broad teeth along lateral margins. pereopods: Chelipeds tuberculate and unequal in size. Walking legs flattened. abdomen: flattened and triangular

Size Carapace: length to 49 mm.

Coloration Highly variable: red, ivory, gray,

Synonyms Cryptolithodes brevifrons Miers, 1879

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

LITHODES AEQUISPINUS

Taxon Authority Benedict, 1895

Common Names golden king crab

Geographic Range Japan, Sea of Okhotsk (northwest Pacific), and Bering Sea; Ucluelet, Vancouver Island

Habitat Continental shelf; from 77 to 730 m.

Morphology eyestalk: stout with cornea mostly ventral. antenna: acicle small and tipped with 2or 3 sharp spines rostrum: with spines: 2 dorsally, 4 laterally and 1 ventrally; tip bifid carapace: round with conical spines, longest marginally pereopods: subequal chelipeds shorter than walking legs, which are elongate and have sharp, broad-based spines on all surfaces. abdomen: A2 spined and entire.

Size Carapace: male 187 x 195 mm.

Coloration Carapace reddish tan and dark red anteriorly. Spines with base, a light band and dark brown tips. Chelipeds reddish tan streaked with red-brown. Spines light, fingers orange and cutting finger of right hand white; those of left brown. Walking legs tan and mahogany; dactyl with terminal bands orange and tips dark brown

Synonyms Paralithodes longirostris Navozov-Lavrov, 1929

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

LITHODES COUESI

Taxon Authority Benedict, 1895

Common Names scarlet king crab

Geographic Range Japan; Bering Sea to off San Diego, California. Type locality north of Unalaska.

Habitat Among mud or boulders, 258-1829 m

Morphology rostrum: with bifid tip and pair lateral spines carapace: longer than wide, with spines on dorsal surface and larger ones along margins. pereopods: Chelipeds much shorter than walking legs, with spines; fingers with gape. Walking legs with spines on upper surface and margins. abdomen: without spines

Size Carapace length to 105 mm

Coloration Carapace rose pink, spines red. Chelipeds and walking legs crimson with white joints. Juveniles scarlet

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

LOPHOLITHODES FORAMINATUS

Taxon Authority (Stimpson, 1859)

Common Names brown box crab

Geographic Range Kodiak, Alaska to San Diego, California. Type locality near San Francisco, California.

Habitat Sandy subtidal areas, rarely low intertidal to 547 m

Morphology rostrum: short, with median spine and spiny tubercles above base. carapace: tuberculate,depressed; gastric region elevated, margins with low, wide spines. pereopods: Chelipeds tuberculate, equal; with broad sinus on carpus forming, with similar sinus on first pair of ambulatory legs, a large respiratory opening. Walking legs tuberculate, capable of being drawn tightly against cephalothorax. abdomen: asymmetrical and tuberculate

Size Carapace length to 165 mm

Coloration Drab reddish-brown or tan.

Synonyms Echinocerus foraminatus Stimpson, 1859

References basis of record: Martin, J.W.; Haney, T.A. (2005). Decapod crustaceans from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: a review through 2005. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145: 445-522

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115

LOPHOLITHODES MANDTII

Taxon Authority Brandt, 1848

Common Names Puget Sound king crab

Geographic Range Sitka, Alaska, to Monterey, California;

Habitat Intertidal to 137 m. Usually subtidal rocky area. Sea Urchins are eaten. Has been observed feeding on sea anemones

Morphology eye: stalk small, shorter than rostrum, covered with many needle-like spines; cornea small and ventrally placed. Acicle with dorsal surface and lateral margins coverd with smooth spines rostrum: blunt spine bearing knobs above the base. carapace: covered with granules of different sizes, covering small knobs and blunt spines on the margins. Cone-shaped elevations over gastric, cardiac and branchial areas. pereopods: Chelipeds each with extensions on inner dorsal margins of merus; carpus and propodus with upcurved spines so that the mouth parts are covered when chelipeds are withdrawn. The exposed areas are covered with large, granulated, blunt spines and knobs. Teeth of larger hand, large and molar-like and those of smaller hand, small and numerous. Fingers with corneous ring at tip. Walking legs with lateral faces smooth, so that they fit closely together, and exposed areas are heavily armed like the chelipeds; dactyl short, with a strong claw. abdomen: composed of plates well armed with granulated knobs.

Size Carapace: male 200 x 270 mm.

Coloration Carapace scarlet, violet or cobalt-blue, with high points and knobs orange. Some granules brown and the smooth knobs on either side of gastric area are dark red. Chelipeds and walking legs yellow, orange. red and blue. Cutting teeth of chelipeds white and setae dark brown; tips of fingers black. Abdomen yellow, red and blue. Eyestalk red-brown with light spines; cornea orange or red. Antenna! flagellum red and faintly banded.

Synonyms Ctenorhinus setimanus Gibbons, 1855 Echinocerus cibarius White, 1848 Remarks Distribution in British Columbia: not uncommon but the activities of SCUBA divers have probably reduced the numbers of large individuals

Until recently, Lithodidae comprised two subfamilies, Hapalogastrinae Brandt, 1850, and Lithodinae Samouelle, 1819. McLaughlin et al. (2007) raised Hapalogastrinae and Lithodinae each to family level, within a superfamily Lithodoidea

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115 PARALITHODES CAMTSCHATICUS

Taxon Authority (Tilesius, 1815)

Common Names red king crab

Geographic Range North Pacific Ocean from Japan to northern British Columbia. A tagged individual travelled 556 km (300 nautical miles) in 290 days. Can migrate 13 km (7 miles) per day. Distribution in British Columbia-Northern British Columbia. Some spawning areas near the Queen Charlotte Islands and adjacent mainland

Habitat Cold waters of the northern Pacific Ocean. Migrate to shallow water to mate in the spring. Young inhabit shallower water than adults who may travel more than 100 miles in their lifetime. From 14 to 366 m.

Morphology eye: stalk short stout with cornea mostly anterior and ventral antenna: acicle a slender spine. rostrum: with long, sharp-pointed tip, a median spine, usually bifid, and 2 small lateral spines carapace: subovate and surface covered with conical spines. pereopods: Chelipeds and legs also spined; chelipeds shorter than walking legs. abdomen: A2 composed of 5 plates separated by sutures. Young individuals have longer and sharper spines and the shapeof the carapace is somewhat different but the number and location spines is the same.

Size Carapace: male 227 X 283 mm; female 195 x 213 mm. Weight to 11 kg (24 lbs.) of which about 25% is meat.

Coloration Varies considerably according to size and whether or not moulting has been recent. Carapace of adults brownish red or red and cream or greenish-white. Spines mostly deeper in colour,light dorsal band and a dark tip. Chelipeds and walking legs cream with patches and streaks of red dorsally. Fingers with white teeth and dark tips.Dactyls of walking legs with lateral streaks of red and corneous dark claws. Ventral surface mostly light with some red patches and light-tipped red spines. Juveniles orange overall

Synonyms Lithodes japonicus De Haan, 1849 Lithodes spinosissimus Brandt, 1848 Maja camtschatica Tilesius, 1815 Paralithodes camtschatica (Tilesius, 1815) Paralithodes rostrofalcatus MacKay, 1932 Remarks Two-year-old juveniles are gregarious and form aggregations composed of thousands of individuals who cling upon each other to form ball-shaped pods. Apparently this is done for protection against predators.

References basis of record: Streftaris, N.; Zenetos, A.; Papathanassiou, E. (2005). Globalisation in marine ecosystems: the story of non-indigenous marine species across European seas. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 43: 419-453

McLaughlin, Patsy A.; Komai, Tomoyuki; Lemaitre, Rafael; Listyo Rahayu, Dwi. (2010). Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) Part I – Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 23: 5-107

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115 PARALOMIS MULTISPINA

Taxon Authority (Benedict, 1895)

Common Names spiny paralomis

Geographic Range Japan; Shumagin Bank, Alaska to off Guadalupe Island, Baja California; off Carmen Island, Gulf of California. Type locality off Queen Charlotte Islands.

Habitat Muddy continental slope, 1100-1577 m.

Morphology rostrum: with simple median spine and two basal spines. carapace: about as long as wide, dorsal surface and lateral margins with numerous spines. pereopods: Chelipeds unequal, slender, with prominent spines on carpus. Ambulatory legs elongate, cylindrical, thickly set with spines. abdomen: Female abdomen twisted to right.

Size Carapace length 80 mm

Coloration Body red to pale pink, spines dark red.

Synonyms Leptolithodes multispinus Benedict, 1895

Remarks This large crab has been fished commercially by trapping.

References basis of record: Martin, J.W.; Haney, T.A. (2005). Decapod crustaceans from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: a review through 2005. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145: 445-522. additional source: McLaughlin, Patsy A.; Komai, Tomoyuki; Lemaitre, Rafael; Listyo Rahayu, Dwi. (2010). Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) Part I – Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 23: 5-107

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102 McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115

Taxa Authority (Benedict, 1895)

Common Names Verrrill's paralomis

Geographic Range Sea of Okhotsk to off San Benito Island, Baja California; and Gulf of California. Type locality off Pribilof Islands.

Habitat Abyssal. Lower continental slope, 1238-2379 m

Morphology rostrum: bifid with subrostral spine carapace: slightly longer than wide, with spines and granules; large spines on margins and elevated areas. . pereopods: Chelipeds shorter than walking legs, spinose; right larger than abdomen: with small spines and nodules.

Size Carapace: male 112X102 mm

Coloration Not recorded, but probably scarlet.

Synonyms Pristopus verrilli Benedict, 1895

Hart, J.F.L. 1982 Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115

PHYLOLITHODES PAPILLOSUS

Taxon Authority Brandt, 1848

Common Names heart crab

Geographic Range Dutch Harbor, Alaska to San Miguel Island, California. Type locality Kadiak Island, Alaska. Uncommon south of Monterey Bay, California.

Habitat Rocky subtidal areas, lowest intertidal zone to 183 m.

Size Carapace length to 90 mm

Coloration Carapace grayish, reddish or brown; walking legs often with cream-colored band above dactyl.

Morphology carapace triangular, granulate with rounded, strawberrylike knobs, with 2 depressed areas on either side of cardiac region and with narrow, blunt, projections on lateral margins. rostrum with a rounded crest terminating in 2 blunt horns and a large spine between eyes ventrally. eyestalk short and s‘pinulose; cornea slightly dilated. Acicle of antenna: acicle with 3 smooth spatulate processes. chelipeds and walking legs subequal in length and covered with numerous long, flattened, granulanì papillate projections, as well as smaller verrniform protruberanees andî tufts of setae on the hands, Daetyls of walking legs short with stout' movable spines ventrally and curved claws.

Synonyms Petaloceras bellianus White, 1856 Phyllolithodes bicornisBate, 1866

Remarks Until recently, Lithodidae comprised two subfamilies, Hapalogastrinae Brandt, 1850, and Lithodinae Samouelle, 1819. McLaughlin et al. (2010) raised Hapalogastrinae and Lithodinae each to family level, within a superfamily Lithodoidea

Taxon Authority Brandt, 1848

Common Names rhinocerus crab

Geographic Range Kodiak, Alaska to Crescent City, California. Type locality Sitka and Kodiak, Alaska

Habitat Rock or gravel bottoms, often in crevices, from 6-73 m.

Morphology rostrum: blunt at base and tapering abruptly to median spine carapace: tuberculate, somewhat triangular, with deep semicircular fossa separating cardiac region from other parts of carapace. pereopods: chelipeds unequal, armed with short spines. Walking legs also with short spines. abdomen: with small tubercles.

Size Carapace length to 59 mm

Coloration Mostly yellowish to grayish brown, markings of orange and cream in carapace depression.

Hart, J.F.L. 1982. Crabs and their relatives of British Columbia. Handbooks British Columbia Provincial Museum. 40:1-266 + figures 1-102

McLaughlin, P. A., Lemaitre R., & Sorhannus U. (2007). Hermit crab phylogeny: a reappraisal and its “fall out”.. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 21(1), 97-115