''Neolithodes'' is a genus of king crabs, in the family

Lithodidae King crabs are a taxon of decapod crustaceans 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, the most common being the red king crab (''Paralithodes camtscha ...

. They are found in all major oceans, both in high and low latitudes. Although there are records from water as shallow as in cold regions, most records are much deeper, typically , with the deepest confirmed at . They are fairly large to large crabs that typically are reddish in color and spiny, although the size of these spines varies depending on species (from long in species like '' N. grimaldii'' to very short in species like ''N. flindersi'', and tending to be more pronounced in small than in large individuals). Various sessile organisms such as

barnacle A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in eros ...

s are sometimes attached to their

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), 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 tor ...

and legs, and small commensal

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

s may live in their carapace. They are occasionally the victims of parasitic snailfish of the genus ''

Careproctus ''Careproctus'' is a genus of snailfishes found in benthic and benthopelagic habitats in the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Southern Oceans. Whether they truly are absent from the Indian Ocean (except for a couple of species in Subantarctic ...

'', which lay their egg mass in the gill chamber of the crab, forming a mobile "home" until they hatch. Conversely, some juvenile ''Neolithodes'' have a commensal relationship with ''

Scotoplanes ''Scotoplanes'' is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers of the family Elpidiidae. Its species are commonly known as sea pigs. Locomotion Members of the Elpidiidae have particularly enlarged tube "feet" that have taken on a leg-like appearance, usi ...

'' sea cucumbers. To protect itself from large predators, the young crab hides under the sea cucumber. The word ''Neolithodes'' derives from the Greek , meaning ''new'', and ''

Lithodes ''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 ...

'', a closely related genus of king crab. The name of the latter genus originates from the Latin , meaning ''stone like''.

Species

The following species are in this genus: *''

Neolithodes agassizii ''Neolithodes agassizii'' is a species of king crab native to the Western Atlantic. They live at depths of and have been found as far south as Rio de Janeiro, as far north as latitude 36°, and near the Equator. See also * ''Neolithodes gri ...

'' ( Smith, 1882) *''

Neolithodes asperrimus ''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 , and ''Neolithodes'' aff. ''asperrimus'' has been found in Madagascar, Réunion, and the South R ...

'' ( Barnard, 1947) *''

Neolithodes brodiei ''Neolithodes brodiei'' is a species of king crab which is native to New Zealand and its adjacent waters. It lives at a depth of but is typically found within a depth of . It has a deep-red colour, and its carapace has many small spinules alon ...

'' (Dawson & Yaldwyn, 1970) *'' Neolithodes bronwynae'' (Ahyong, 2010) *''

Neolithodes capensis ''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 . They have been found near Cape Point and around the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands in the ...

'' ( Stebbing, 1905) *''

Neolithodes diomedeae ''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. Diet ''Neolithodes diomedeae'' are opportunistic, n ...

'' (Benedict, 1894) *''

Neolithodes duhameli ''Neolithodes duhameli'' is a species of king crab which is found in the Crozet Islands The Crozet Islands (french: Îles Crozet; or, officially, ''Archipel Crozet'') are a sub-Antarctic archipelago of small islands in the southern Indian Oc ...

'' (Macpherson, 2004) *''

Neolithodes flindersi ''Neolithodes flindersi'' is a species of king crab found in southeastern Australia. They have been found at depths of but typically appear from . They most closely resemble ''Neolithodes brodiei'' and ''Neolithodes nipponensis''. Interspecies ...

'' (Ahyong, 2010) *''

Neolithodes grimaldii ''Neolithodes grimaldii'', the porcupine crab, 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 (Greenla ...

'' (

Milne-Edwards Milne-Edwards is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Henri Milne-Edwards (1800–1885), French zoologist * Alphonse Milne-Edwards (1835–1900), French ornithologist and carcinologist, a son of Henri Milne-Edwards See also * Milne ...

& Bouvier, 1894) *''

Neolithodes indicus ''Neolithodes indicus'' is a species of king crab found in the Arabian Sea. It has been found at depths between . It was originally identified erroneously as '' Lithodes agassizii'' by A.R.S. Anderson in 1896. Etymology "''Neolithodes''" is de ...

'' (Padate, Cubelio & Takeda, 2020) *''

Neolithodes nipponensis ''Neolithodes nipponensis'' is a species of king crab which is found in Japan and Taiwan. It has been found at depths from . In the Southern Pacific In 2001, an article was published in '' Zoosystema'' which reported ''N. nipponensis'' in Fi ...

'' (Sakai 1971) *'' Neolithodes vinogradovi'' (Macpherson, 1988) *''

Neolithodes yaldwyni ''Neolithodes yaldwyni'' is a species of king crab which is found in the Ross Sea from depths of . It had previously been misidentified as '' Neolithodes brodiei'', and it closely resembles '' Neolithodes capensis''. Invasive species ''Neolith ...

'' (Ahyong & Dawson, 2006)

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4487123 King crabs Taxa named by Eugène Louis Bouvier Decapod genera