Neolithodes flindersi

{{short description|Species of king crab}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Neolithodes flindersi.jpg

| genus = Neolithodes

| species = flindersi

| authority = Ahyong, 2010

}}

Neolithodes flindersi is a species of king crab found in southeastern Australia.{{Cite journal|last=Ahyong|first=Shane T.|date=18 February 2010|title=Neolithodes flindersi, a new species of king crab from southeastern Australia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289804861|journal=Zootaxa|volume=2362|issue=1|pages=55–62|doi=10.5281/zenodo.193654|via=ResearchGate}}{{Cite book|last=Ahyong|first=Shane T.|url=https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/Memoir%20123_The%20Marine%20Fauna%20of%20New%20Zealand_King%20Crabs.pdf#page=90|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 Diversity Memoirs|volume=123|pages=89–101|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}} They have been found at depths of {{Convert|887–1333|m|ft}} but typically appear from {{Convert|950–1050|m|ft}}. They most closely resemble Neolithodes brodiei and Neolithodes nipponensis.

Appearance

N. flindersi is bright red in colour and has only a few prominent spines, covered mostly instead by numerous small spinules. It has a pyriform carapace having been measured as large as {{Convert|183.3|mm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{Convert|115.8|mm|in|abbr=on}} in width, making it the largest lithodid known from Australia.{{Cite journal|last=Ahyong|first=Shane T.|date=18 February 2010|title=Neolithodes flindersi, a new species of king crab from southeastern Australia (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae)|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289804861|journal=Zootaxa|volume=2362|issue=1|pages=55–62|doi=10.5281/zenodo.193654|via=ResearchGate}}

Interspecies interactions

N. flindersi have been found to be parasitised by the snailfish genus Careproctus, who deposit eggs in the crabs' gill chambers. They have been found in Alcyonacea corals such as Chrysogorgia orientalis.

References

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