Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Lithodidae | Lithodinae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 0 - 461 m (Ref. 865). Temperate; -1°C - 18°C (Ref. 121574), preferred 5°C (Ref. 107945); 65°N - 36°N, 127°E - 126°W (Ref. 78813)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Northern Pacific and the Arctic: from South Korea to Kamchatka Krai, Russia, and Norton Sound, Alaska to Great Bay, Vancouver Island. Introduced in Arctic Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea between water temperatures between 1.0 °C and 13.5 °C (Ref. 121575). Temperate to polar.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 10.7, range 7 - 11.28 cm Max length : 22.0 cm CL male/unsexed; (Ref. 78813)

Has two migrations, mating-molting and feeding migration (Ref. 78813). This is the most valuable commercial crab on the Pacific coast of North America (Ref. 865). Maximum depth from Ref. 121573.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

At spring adult crabs concentrate in shallow water for larvae hatching, molting, and then pairing and laying new eggs on pleopods. Larvae hatching from eggs (protozoa and zoea) live in the pelagic zone, as a rule, for more than two months. During this time the larvae manage to molt four times and turn into a glaucothoe, which develops all legs already, claws, shell of cephalothorax is covered with thorns. Glaucothoe passes to bottom existence. After a month glaucothoe molts and turns into juvenile of red king crab. Three years later juvenile leave the thicket of algae and move to sandy seabed. Crabs found in any pod are 24 and 69 mm in CL. Crabs begin to gather in pods and make extended migrations (Ref. 121585). Complete larval development requires an average of 460 degree days (Ref. 121587). The optimum temperature for the development of zoea is about 3 °C, the development of the late stages occurs at about 8 °C (Ref. 121588).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Jørgensen, L.L. 2006. (Ref. 78813)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Not Evaluated

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.5 - 6.8, mean 3 (based on 387 cells).

Resilience (Ref. 69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.25; tm=7; Fec=200,000).

Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): High.

Nutrients : Calcium = 109 [35, 184] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [1.21, 1.97] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.185, 0.386] g/100g; Selenium = 48.3 [-31.7, 128.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.17, 2.40] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.

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