Neolithodes grimaldii

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Porcupine crab
NeolithodesGrimaldiiRay.jpg
Lithodes grimaldi.jpg
Illustration from Ray Lankester's A Treatise on Zoology above, museum specimen below (living are red)
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: Neolithodes
Species:
N. grimaldii
Binomial name
Neolithodes grimaldii

Neolithodes grimaldii, the porcupine crab, [1] is a species of king crab in the family Lithodidae. This large red crab is found in cold deep waters in the North Atlantic and often caught as a bycatch in fisheries for Greenland turbot (Greenland halibut). As suggested by its common name, the carapace and legs are covered in long spines. [2]

Contents

Distribution and habitat

The porcupine crab is found on muddy bottoms on the continental slope in deep waters of the North Atlantic. [3] [4] In the western Atlantic, it ranges from eastern Canada and Greenland south as far as North Carolina in the United States. In the eastern Atlantic, it ranges from Iceland to Madeira, Portugal and Cape Verde, including the Porcupine Seabight and Rockall Trough off Ireland. [5] [6] It has been recorded at depths of 329–5,230 m (1,079–17,159 ft), but mostly at 1,000–3,000 m (3,300–9,800 ft) in water that is about 2–5 °C (36–41 °F). [5] [7] Exceptionally, living singles have been caught in very shallow water, likely the result of turning icebergs suddenly forcing them up from the deep. [8]

Based on radio tagging, some individuals will stay in a region for months, but others may move quite long distances. [1]

Appearance

This deep red crab is covered in spines, which are long and robust in large adults, and very long and thin in young. [3] It has a carapace length ("nose" to "rump") that is up to 18 cm (7.1 in), a leg span up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and can weigh as much as 2.28 kg (5.0 lb). [2] [4] Females are somewhat smaller than males; [2] in a study off Canada average carapace length for healthy adults was about 9.5 and 12 cm (3.7 and 4.7 in) for females and males respectively. [6] They are often victims of Briarosaccus callosus (family Peltogastridae), a parasitic barnacle that causes sterility in the crab and also will use many other king crab species around the world as a host. In the porcupine crab, males infected by this barnacle average somewhat smaller than healthy males, while infected females average somewhat larger than healthy females. [6]

Fishing

Fisheries for Greenland turbot (Greenland halibut) can have porcupine crabs as a bycatch, sometimes in large quantities; in 1996 alone several hundred thousand tonnes were caught off Canada. [2] [9] Despite this, the porcupine crab has not been targeted by fisheries because of the great depth it inhabits (unlike several other large king crab species that typically inhabit shallower depths and are heavily targeted by fisheries). It is, however, considered to have potential as a future fishing resource. [6] [1] As long as the porcupine crab is not injured during capture and release from the bottom gillnet, they have a high survival rate. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King crab</span> Family of crustaceans

King crabs are a taxon of decapod crustaceans that are chiefly found in cold seas. Because of their large size and the taste of their meat, many species are widely caught and sold as food with the most common being the red king crab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Squat lobster</span> Decapod crustaceans in the infraorder Anomura

Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which form part of the decapod infraorder Anomura, alongside groups including the hermit crabs and mole crabs. They are distributed worldwide in the oceans, and occur from near the surface to deep sea hydrothermal vents, with one species occupying caves above sea level. More than 900 species have been described, in around 60 genera. Some species form dense aggregations, either on the sea floor or in the water column, and a small number are commercially fished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anomura</span> Infraorder of crustaceans

Anomura is a group of decapod crustaceans, including hermit crabs and others. Although the names of many anomurans include the word crab, all true crabs are in the sister group to the Anomura, the Brachyura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonah crab</span> Species of crab

The Jonah crab is a marine brachyuran crab that inhabits waters along the east coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida. Jonah crabs possess a rounded, rough-edged carapace with small light spots, and robust claws with dark brown-black tips. The maximum reported carapace width for males is 222 mm, while females rarely exceed 150 mm. It is the closest relative to the European brown crab in the Western Atlantic.

<i>Lithodes maja</i> Species of crustacean

Lithodes maja, the Norway king crab,northern stone crab, or trollkrabbe, is a species of king crab which occurs in colder North Atlantic waters off Europe and North America. It is found along the entire coast of Norway, including Svalbard, ranging south into the North Sea and Kattegat, the northern half of the British Isles, and around the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and off south-eastern Greenland. In the West Atlantic, it ranges from the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada south to The Carolinas in the United States.

<i>Lithodes santolla</i> Species of crustacean

Lithodes santolla, also known as the southern king crab, Chilean king crab or centolla, is a species of king crab, found off southern South America including the offshore Falkland Islands. On the Pacific side, it is found in Chile from Talcahuano to Cape Horn. On the Atlantic side, it is found off Argentina and Uruguay. It lives in the benthic zone at depths of 0–700 m (0–2,300 ft), with Uruguayan records being exclusively from great depths. In Chile, it mostly lives at depths to 150 m (490 ft), but south of 40° S it can be found to 600 m (2,000 ft). It is a large crab that can reach up to 19 cm (7.5 in) in carapace length, and it is the target of commercial fishing.

<i>Paralomis histrix</i> Species of crustacean

Paralomis histrix is a species of king crab, family Lithodidae. It lives at a depth of 180–400 m (590–1,310 ft) in Tokyo Bay, Enshunada and through to Kyūshū. It has few predators because of its size and spiky carapace. It is sometimes kept in public aquariums and is occasionally referred to as the porcupine crab, a name otherwise used for Neolithodes grimaldii.

<i>Lithodes</i> Genus of crustaceans

Lithodes is a genus of king crabs. Today there are about 30 recognized species, but others formerly included in this genus have been moved to Neolithodes and Paralomis. They are found in oceans around the world, ranging from shallow to deep waters, but mostly at depths of 100–1,000 m (300–3,300 ft). They are restricted to relatively cold waters, meaning that they only occur at high depths at low latitudes, but some species also shallower at high latitudes. They are medium to large crabs, and some species are or were targeted by fisheries.

Calcinus tubularis is a species of hermit crab. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and around islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives below the intertidal zone. Its carapace, eyestalks and claws are marked with numerous red spots. C. tubularis and its sister species, C. verrilli, are the only hermit crabs known to show sexual dimorphism in shell choice, with males using normal marine gastropod shells, while females use shells of gastropods in the family Vermetidae, which are attached to rocks or other hard substrates.

<i>Neolithodes</i> Genus of crustaceans

Neolithodes is a genus of king crabs, in the family Lithodidae. They are found in all major oceans, both in high and low latitudes. Although there are records from water as shallow as 124 m (407 ft) in cold regions, most records are much deeper, typically 700–2,000 m (2,300–6,600 ft), with the deepest confirmed at 5,238 m (17,185 ft). They are fairly large to very large crabs that typically are reddish in color and spiny, although the size of these spines varies depending on species.

<i>Paralomis zealandica</i> Species of crustacean

Paralomis zealandica, also known as the prickly king crab, is a species of king crab which lives at a depth of 254–1,212 m (833–3,976 ft) in New Zealand. It has spiky carapace. The scientific name of the species was first validly published in 1971 by Dawson & Yaldwyn. P. zealandica can be distinguished from other species in New Zealand waters by its thick covering of strong upright spines all over, including on its abdomen and along its legs and claws. The rostrum has three short, strong and sharp spines. It is the most prominent species of Paralomis in New Zealand.

<i>Neolithodes flindersi</i> Species of king crab

Neolithodes flindersi is a species of king crab found in southeastern Australia. They have been found at depths of 887–1,333 metres (2,910–4,373 ft) but typically appear from 950–1,050 metres (3,120–3,440 ft). They most closely resemble Neolithodes brodiei and Neolithodes nipponensis.

<i>Neolithodes agassizii</i> Species of king crab

Neolithodes agassizii is a species of king crab native to the Western Atlantic. They live at depths of 200–1,900 metres (660–6,230 ft), and have been found as far south as Rio de Janeiro, as far north as latitude 36°, and near the Equator. It has been found in the southwestern Caribbean Sea as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

Neolithodes yaldwyni is a species of king crab which is found in the Ross Sea from depths of 124–1,950 metres (407–6,398 ft). It had previously been misidentified as Neolithodes brodiei, and it closely resembles Neolithodes capensis.

<i>Neolithodes brodiei</i> Species of king crab

Neolithodes brodiei is a species of very large king crab which is native to New Zealand and its adjacent waters. It lives at a depth of 500–1,240 metres (1,640–4,070 ft) but is typically found within a depth of 950–1,150 metres (3,120–3,770 ft). It has a deep-red colour, and its carapace has many small spinules along with larger spines and its Large size. It is classified as "Not Threatened" by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Neolithodes vinogradovi is a species of king crab whose native habitat ranges from the Arabian Sea to the Coral Sea.

Neolithodes asperrimus is a species of king crab native to the coast of Africa. It has been found in South Africa and Mauritania at depths of 997–1,862 metres (3,271–6,109 ft), and Neolithodes aff. asperrimus has been found in Madagascar, Réunion, and the South Region of Brazil.

Neolithodes capensis is a species of king crab which is found in the Southern Ocean and the western Indian Ocean. It has been found to a depth of 660–3,200 metres (2,170–10,500 ft).

<i>Neolithodes diomedeae</i> Species of king crab

Neolithodes diomedeae is a species of king crab which is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, and the Bellingshausen and Scotia Seas in the Southern Ocean. They occur from 200 to 2,454 m.

<i>Hepatus pudibundus</i> Species of crab

Hepatus pudibundus, the flecked box crab, is a crab from the class Malacostraca. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean with Brazil having a dense population of H. pudibundus, as they are one of the most commonly seen crabs in the country. Many of the studies done on H. pudibubus have occurred in the Ubatuba region of Brazil, where there is a rapid expansion of tourism that is affecting marine ecosystems.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Davidson, E. R.; Hussey, Nigel Edward (December 2019). "Movements of a potential fishery resource, porcupine crab (Neolithodes grimaldii) in Northern Davis Strait, Eastern Canadian Arctic". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers . 154: 103143. Bibcode:2019DSRI..15403143D. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103143.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Neolithodes grimaldii" (PDF). Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 Macpherson, Enrique (1988). "Revision of the family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in the Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Monografías de Zoología Marina (in English and Spanish). II: 9–153. ISSN   0213-4020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020 via the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
  4. 1 2 "Neolithodes grimaldii (Porcupine crab)". Deep Sea Creatures of the North Atlantic. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. 1 2 Quigley, Declan T. G.; Flannery, Kevin (April 1997). "Neolithodes grimaldii Milne Edwards & Bouvier 1894 (Lithodes goodei Benedict 1895) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in Irish offshore waters". Irish Naturalists' Journal . 25 (10): 373–374. JSTOR   25536085 . Retrieved 14 May 2020 via ResearchGate.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Furey, Greg (December 2016). Prevalence and effects of rhizocephalan (Cirripedia: Briarosaccus callosus) parasitism and assessment of post-capture survival using the reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP) method on the deep water Porcupine crab (Neolithodes grimaldii) captured on the Labrador Shelf in the Northwest Atlantic (PDF) (Masters of Science thesis). Memorial University of Newfoundland. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020 via Memorial University Libraries.
  7. Williams, Austin B.; Wigley, Roland L. (December 1977). Distribution of Decapod Crustacea Off Northeastern United States Based on Specimens at the Northeast Fisheries Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts (PDF) (Report). NOAA Technical Report NMFS. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  8. Heegaard, P. E. (1941). "The Zoology of East Greenland – Decapod Crustaceans". Meddelelser om Grønland . 126 (6): 1–72.
  9. He, Pingguo (August 2005). "Characteristics of bycatch of porcupine crabs, Neolithodes grimaldii (Milne-Edwards and Bouvier, 1894) from deepwater turbot gillnets in the northwest Atlantic". Fisheries Research . 74 (1–3): 35–43. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2005.04.002.