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Learn about crabs, decapod crustaceans with a short tail and pincers on each arm. Find out how crabs live, reproduce, and evolve in different environments, and how to identify them by their appearance and features.
- King crab
The red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, is a very...
- Hermit crab
Hermit crab species range in size and shape, from species...
- Fiddler crab
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one...
- Horseshoe crab
Only four species of horseshoe crab are alive today. Most...
- King crab
Learn about crabs, a form of decapods with eight legs and two claws. Find out their structure, food, evolution, and how they are eaten and prepared.
Freshwater crab. Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs, which release thousands of planktonic larvae.
- Controversial Taxon
- Species
- Symbiosis
- Parasites
- See Also
- External Links
In 2007, the king crabs were moved from their classification among the hermit crabs in the superfamily Paguroidea into a separate superfamily, Lithodoidea. This was not without controversy, as there is widespread consensus in the scientific community that king crabs are derived from hermit crabs and closely related to pagurid hermit crabs; therefor...
As of April 2024[update], 137 species of king crab (one extinct) are known in 15 genera.These are split across its two subfamilies – Hapalogastrinae and Lithodinae – and include:
Juveniles of species of king crabs, including Neolithodes diomedeae, use a species (Scotoplanes Sp. A) of sea cucumber (often known as “sea pigs”) as hosts and can be found on top of and under Scotoplanes. The Scotoplanes reduce the risk of predation for the N. diomedeae, while the Scotoplanes are not harmed from being hosts, which supports the con...
Some species of king crab, including those of the genera Lithodes, Neolithodes, Paralithodes, and likely Echidnocerus, act as hosts to some parasitic species of careproctus fish. The careproctus lays eggs in the gill chamber of the king crab which serves as a well-protected and aerated area for the eggs to reside until they hatch. On occasion king ...
Media related to Lithodidaeat Wikimedia CommonsData related to Lithodidaeat WikispeciesHermit crab species range in size and shape, from species with a carapace only a few millimetres long to Coenobita brevimanus, which can live 12–70 years and can approach the size of a coconut. The shell-less hermit crab Birgus latro (coconut crab) is the world's largest terrestrial invertebrate. [21]
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, [2] well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while the females' claws are both the same size. [3]
Only four species of horseshoe crab are alive today. Most are marine, though the mangrove horseshoe crab is often found in brackish water. Additionally, certain extinct species transitioned to living in freshwater. Horseshoe crabs primarily live at the water's bottom but they can swim if needed.
