Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819

Wicksten, Mary K., 2012, Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces 3371, Zootaxa 3371, pp. 1-307 : 165

Family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819

The Lithodidae , including the king crabs, are primarily a cold-water family with the greatest species diversity and diversity in body form in the North Pacific. Few studies have been conducted on their natural history. Most seem to be scavengers or predators on see other invertebrates, including mollusks. Dawson (1989) gave a comprehensive bibliography of lithodids.

From photographs, it may be difficult to distinguish species of Paralithodes from brachyuran crabs of the superfamily Majoidea . In lithodids, the longer second antennae lie lateral to the eye; while in brachyurans, both pairs of antennae are short and have their origins mesial to the eye. Lithodids have at most three pairs of locomotory appendages posterior to the chelipeds, while brachyurans usually have four pairs. The abdomen of a lithodid generally is asymmetrical and contains membranous areas, while the abdomen of a brachyuran generally is symmetrical and well calcified.

Dawson (1989: 318) reported Neolithodes diomedeae Benedict, 1895 from "Eastern Pacific, Southern California, Mexico to Scotia Sea; deep water.” There are specimens identified as this species in the Benthic Invertebrate Collection of Scripps Institution of Oceanography ( Luke 1977). It would be wise to re-examine these specimens and confirm the identification.