Echidnocerus cibarius

(White, 1842)

Vernacular names
English : Puget Sound king crab
French : Crabe royal de Puget Sound

Classification
Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda
Family : Lithodidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Huge box-like crab reaching 30 cm in shell width and 20 cm in length. Shell roughly triangular with big irregular humps. Legs short, thick and with spines and humps. Coloration is pinkish-brown and red with white and blue hump tips.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in eastern Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to Monterey Bay in California (USA). Lives in rocky areas with strong wave action, from tidal area to 137 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : NOT LISTED
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species’ status has yet to be assessed. It has been overcollected in the past but is now protected within most of its range.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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