Lithodes aotearoa
{{Short description|Species of king crab}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Lithodes aotearoa 01.jpg
| image_caption = Juvenile above, adult specimen below
| image2 = MA_I007139_TePapa_Lithodes-aotearoa-Ahyong_full.jpg
| status = NT
| status_system = NZTCS
| status_ref = {{sfn|Funnell|Gordon|Daniel|Makan|2023|p=36}}
| taxon = Lithodes aotearoa
| authority = Ahyong, 2010{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=16}}
}}
{{maplink|raw={{Wikipedia:Map_data/NIWA_34924}}
|frame=yes|zoom=4|frame-width=250|text=Holotype site: NIWA 34924{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=18}}}}
Lithodes aotearoa is a species of king crab endemic to New Zealand.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|pp=28,29}} It had formerly been confused with L. longispina and L. murrayi, which until 2010 were thought to occur in the region.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=26}} It is the second most widespread and common lithodid in New Zealand waters after Neolithodes brodiei,{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|pp=83,185}} and the New Zealand Department of Conservation classifies it as "Not Threatened".{{sfn|Funnell|Gordon|Daniel|Makan|2023|p=36}}
Description
Lithodes aotearoa is deep-purplish red in colour and has a pyriform carapace.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|pp=24,26}} The carapace is covered with prominent, slender spines in juveniles and short, conical spines in adults.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=24}} Inbetween the spines are a smooth surface sparsely dotted with granules or small secondary spines.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=24}} Its carapace has been measured as large as {{Convert|195.0|mm|in|abbr=on}} in postrostral length and {{Convert|199.1|mm|in|abbr=on}} in width in a male specimen.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=28}}{{Efn|name=Postrostral|Postrostral length excludes the rostrum. Including the rostrum, the carapace is {{convert|240.0|mm|in|abbr=on}} long in the male and {{convert|230.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the female.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=20}}}} The largest known female carapace measures {{Convert|190.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} in postrostral length and {{Convert|183.9|mm|in|abbr=on}} in width.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=20}}{{Efn|name=Postrostral}} Its rearmost pair of walking legs is the longest, and its legspan can be over {{Convert|130|cm|in|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|pp=26,28}} It is the largest lithodid known from New Zealand.{{sfn|Ahyong|2010|p=28}}
Commercial fishing
Lithodes aotearoa are commercially fished in the waters around New Zealand.{{sfn|Fisheries New Zealand|2024|p=749}} They are included, with Neolithodes brodiei, in the total allowable commercial catch of up to {{convert|90|t|lb ST|abbr=on}} for king crabs under New Zealand's Quota Management System.{{sfn|Fisheries New Zealand|2024|p=749}}
Notes
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References
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=Works cited=
{{Refbegin}}
- {{Cite book |last=Ahyong |first=Shane T. |author-link=Shane T. Ahyong |url=https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/Memoir%20123_The%20Marine%20Fauna%20of%20New%20Zealand_King%20Crabs.pdf#page=75 |title=The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) |publisher=National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research |year=2010 |isbn=978-0478232851 |series=NIWA Biodiversity Memoirs |volume=123 |pages=74–83 |lccn=2010497356 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215075140/https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/Memoir%20123_The%20Marine%20Fauna%20of%20New%20Zealand_King%20Crabs.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2020 |url-status=live}}
- {{Cite report|url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/nztcs40entire.pdf|last1=Funnell|first1=Greig|last2=Gordon|first2=Dennis|last3=Daniel|first3=Leduc|last4=Makan|first4=Troy|last5=Marshall|first5=Bruce A.|last6=Mills|first6=Sadie|last7=Michel|first7=Pascale|last8=Read|first8=Geoff|last9=Schnabel|first9=Kareen|last10=Tracey|first10=Di|last11=Wing|first11=Stephen|editor-last=Todd|editor-first=Amanda|display-authors=1|title=Conservation status of indigenous marine invertebrates in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2021|publisher=New Zealand Department of Conservation|page=36|isbn=978-1-99-118365-1|date=January 2023|access-date=19 March 2023}}
- {{Cite web |date=May 2024 |year= |title=King Crab (KIC) |url=https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/25668/38%20KIC%202024.pdf.ashx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250602235845/https://fs.fish.govt.nz/Doc/25668/38%20KIC%202024.pdf.ashx |archive-date=2 June 2025 |access-date=31 May 2025 |publisher=Fisheries New Zealand}}
{{Refend}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|2=Lithodes aotearoa}}
- {{Wikispecies-inline|2=Lithodes aotearoa}}
- [https://www.ruraldelivery.net.nz/posts/King-Crab-Fishery Rural Delivery video] about Lithodes aotearoa fishery
{{Lithodidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q13768213}}
{{Portal bar|Crustaceans|Marine life}}
Category:Crustaceans described in 2010
Category:Marine crustaceans of New Zealand
Category:Anomura of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Taxa named by Shane T. Ahyong
{{Anomura-stub}}