ABSTRACT
When used generically, or in relation to abundance, “king crab” typically brings to mind a single species, the red king crab (RKC) Paralithodes camtschaticus (Plate I). Historically and commercially, the name “king crab” has been applied to a number of species, including the blue king crab (BKC) P. platypus, the Hanasaki king crab P. brevipes, the golden and scarlet king crabs, Lithodes aequispinus and L. couesi, respectively, and the southern king crab Lithodes santolla. All of these belong to the family Lithodidae, subfamily Lithodinae, which included 79 species in 1985 (Dawson and Yaldwyn, 1985), but as of this publication includes 121 species in 10 genera, including Lithodes (29 species), Paralithodes (5 species), Cryptolithodes (3 species), Paralomis (66 species), Lopholithodes (2 species), Neolithodes (12 species), and Phyllolithodes, Rhinolithodes, Sculptolithodes, and Glyptolithodes with only 1 species each (McLaughlin, Chapter 2). The family originated in the North Pacic, where lithodid diversity is highest, and ∼70% of known species occur (Zaklan, 2002). Lithodids underwent tropical submergence during their southward radiation along the Pacic coast of the Americas (Bouvier, 1896; Hall and Thatje, 2009b). Otto (Chapter 5) relates the historical usage of the term “king crab” within the seafood industry. For most of this book, we will concentrate on the six major commercial species within the genera Paralithodes and Lithodes, with occasional references to Paralomis spp. since they are of little commercial interest, tend to occupy deep water, and there is not enough biological information on them to support a dedicated treatise at this time.
