// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Lithodes aotearoa say? Crabby.
| Lithodes aotearoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Juvenile above, adult specimen below | |
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Lithodidae |
| Genus: | Lithodes |
| Species: | L. aotearoa |
| Binomial name | |
| Lithodes aotearoa | |
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
[edit]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] In between 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) long[a] and 199.1 mm (7.84 in) wide in a male specimen.[10] The largest known female carapace measures 190.5 mm (7.50 in) in postrostral length and 183.9 mm (7.24 in) in width.[9][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.[10]
Fisheries
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Funnell et al. 2023, p. 36.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, p. 16.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, p. 18.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, pp. 28, 29.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, p. 26.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, pp. 83, 185.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, pp. 24, 26.
- 1 2 Ahyong 2010, p. 24.
- 1 2 Ahyong 2010, p. 20.
- 1 2 Ahyong 2010, p. 28.
- ↑ Ahyong 2010, pp. 26, 28.
- 1 2 Fisheries New Zealand 2024, p. 749.
Works cited
[edit]- 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.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Lithodes aotearoa at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Lithodes aotearoa at Wikispecies- Rural Delivery video about Lithodes aotearoa fishery
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