''Lithodes richeri'' is a species of
king crab. It has been found in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, and eastern Australia at depths between .
Description
''Lithodes richeri'' has a pyriform
carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...
and is overall deep-red in colour. The largest female carapace yet measured is in
postrostral length and in width, while the largest male carapace is in postrostral length and in width. When the rostrum – angled upward at about 30° – is included, it accounts for anywhere from slightly more to slightly less than half the length of the carapace. This is exceptionally long among king crabs from Australia and New Zealand. The
chelipeds are unequal in size and are slightly larger relative to the postrostral carapace length in males compared to females. Its first pair of walking legs are the shortest and the third pair the longest; all three pairs of walking legs are longer relative to postrostral carapace length in males compared to females.
Distribution
''Lithodes richeri'' is found in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
,
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
, and eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
between depths of . In 2004, a large female king crab from the
Seram Sea was identified as ''L. richeri'', but this was later identified in 2018 as ''
L. ahyongi'', a new species.
References
Works cited
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External links
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King crabs
Crustaceans described in 1990
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