Lithodes maja
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| Lithodes maja | ||||||||||||||||
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 Lithodes maja (on top of Hyas araneus)
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| Lithodes maja Linnaeus, 1758 [1] |
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Lithodes maja is a species of king crab which occurs in the colder waters of Europe and North America. It is found along entire coast of Norway [2], the northern half of the British Isles, and around the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Svalbard and off south-eastern Greenland [1]. In Canada, it is found from Newfoundland southwards [3].
The carapace is almost circular and may reach a width of 13–14 cm [2]. The whole body is brown or orange and is covered with large spikes. It lives on both soft and hard bottoms, from a few metres below the surface to around 800 m depth [2][1]. Like most king crabs, females are asymmetrical, with the left side of the abdomen considerably larger than the right, although specimens with the reverse of this are occasionally found [4].
The low rate of egg production by this species, in comparison to species fished in the North Pacific, limits its abundance, making it unsuitable for commercial exploitation [5].
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Cédric d'Udekem d'Acoz (2003). Lithodes maja (Linnaeus, 1758). Crustikon – crustacean photographic website. Tromsø Museum – University of Tromsø.
- ^ a b c K. Telnes. Deepsea king crab. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ Stone crab, Lithodes maja. Canada's Species. McGill University. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ S. D. Zaklan (2000). A case of reversed asymmetry in Lithodes maja (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Anomura, Lithodidae). Crustaceana 73 (8): 1019–1022. doi:.
- ^ Northern stone crab (Lithodes maja) exploratory fishing. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (2000).
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