Lithodes aotearoa

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Lithodes aotearoa
Lithodes aotearoa 01.jpg
Juvenile above, adult specimen below
MA I007139 TePapa Lithodes-aotearoa-Ahyong full.jpg
Status NZTCS NT.svg
Not Threatened (NZ TCS) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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]
Lithodes aotearoa
Holotype site: NIWA 34924'"`UNIQ--ref-00000007-QINU`"'

Lithodes aotearoa is a species of king crab endemic to New Zealand. [3] It had formerly been confused with L. longispina and L. murrayi , which until 2010 were thought to occur in the region. [4] It is the second most widespread and common lithodid in New Zealand waters after Neolithodes brodiei , [5] and the New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies it as "Not Threatened". [1]

Contents

Description

Lithodes aotearoa is deep-purplish red in colour and has a pyriform carapace. [6] The carapace is covered with prominent, slender spines in juveniles and short, conical spines in adults. [7] Inbetween the spines are a smooth surface sparsely dotted with granules or small secondary spines. [7] 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. [8] [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. [9] [a] Its rearmost pair of walking legs is the longest, and its legspan can be over 130 cm (51 in). [10] It is the largest lithodid known from New Zealand. [8]

Commercial fishing

Lithodes aotearoa are commercially fished in the waters around New Zealand. [11] 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. [11]

Notes

  1. 1 2 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. [9]

References

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

Works cited

  • 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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