Neolithodes grimaldii

Neolithodes grimaldii, the porcupine crab, is a species of king crab in the family Lithodidae. This large red crab is found in cold deep waters in the North Atlantic and often caught as a bycatch in fisheries for Greenland turbot (Greenland halibut). As suggested by its common name, the carapace and legs are covered in long spines.[1]

"Porcupine crab" redirects here. For the species from the northwest Pacific Ocean that sometimes is kept in public aquariums, see Paralomis histrix.

Porcupine crab
Illustration from Ray Lankester's A Treatise on Zoology above, museum specimen below (living are red)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Lithodidae
Genus: Neolithodes
Species:
N. grimaldii
Binomial name
Neolithodes grimaldii

Distribution and habitat

The porcupine crab is found on muddy bottoms on the continental slope in deep waters of the North Atlantic.[2][3] In the western Atlantic, it ranges from eastern Canada and Greenland south as far as North Carolina in the United States. In the eastern Atlantic, it ranges from Iceland to Madeira, Portugal and Cape Verde, including the Porcupine Seabight and Rockall Trough off Ireland.[4][5] It has been recorded at depths of 329–5,230 m (1,079–17,159 ft), but mostly at 1,000–3,000 m (3,300–9,800 ft) in water that is about 2–5 °C (36–41 °F).[4][6] Exceptionally, living singles have been caught in very shallow water, likely the result of turning icebergs suddenly forcing them up from the deep.[7]

Based on radio tagging, some individuals will stay in a region for months, but others may move quite long distances.[8]

Appearance

This deep red crab is covered in spines, which are long and robust in large adults, and very long and thin in young.[2] It has a carapace length ("nose" to "rump") that is up to 18 cm (7.1 in), a leg span up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) and can weigh as much as 2.28 kg (5.0 lb).[1][3] Females are somewhat smaller than males;[1] in a study off Canada average carapace length for healthy adults was about 9.5 and 12 cm (3.7 and 4.7 in) for females and males respectively.[5] They are often victims of Briarosaccus callosus (family Peltogastridae), a parasitic barnacle that causes sterility in the crab and also will use many other king crab species around the world as a host. In the porcupine crab, males infected by this barnacle average somewhat smaller than healthy males, while infected females average somewhat larger than healthy females.[5]

Fishing

Fisheries for Greenland turbot (Greenland halibut) can have porcupine crabs as a bycatch, sometimes in large quantities; in 1996 alone several hundred thousand tonnes were caught off Canada.[1][9] Despite this, the porcupine crab has not been targeted by fisheries because of the great depth it inhabits (unlike several other large king crab species that typically inhabit shallower depths and are heavily targeted by fisheries). It is, however, considered to have potential as a future fishing resource.[5][8] As long as the porcupine crab is not injured during capture and release from the bottom gillnet, they have a high survival rate.[5]

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References
  1. "Neolithodes grimaldii" (PDF). Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  2. Macpherson, Enrique (1988). "Revision of the family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in the Atlantic Ocean" (PDF). Monografías de Zoología Marina (in English and Spanish). II: 9–153. ISSN 0213-4020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020 – via the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
  3. "Neolithodes grimaldii (Porcupine crab)". Deep Sea Creatures of the North Atlantic. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. Quigley, Declan T. G.; Flannery, Kevin (April 1997). "Neolithodes grimaldii Milne Edwards & Bouvier 1894 (Lithodes goodei Benedict 1895) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in Irish offshore waters". Irish Naturalists' Journal. 25 (10): 373–374. JSTOR 25536085. Retrieved 14 May 2020 – via ResearchGate.
  5. Furey, Greg (December 2016). Prevalence and effects of rhizocephalan (Cirripedia: Briarosaccus callosus) parasitism and assessment of post-capture survival using the reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP) method on the deep water Porcupine crab (Neolithodes grimaldii) captured on the Labrador Shelf in the Northwest Atlantic (PDF) (Masters of Science thesis). Memorial University of Newfoundland. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020 – via Memorial University Libraries.
  6. Williams, Austin B.; Wigley, Roland L. (December 1977). Distribution of Decapod Crustacea Off Northeastern United States Based on Specimens at the Northeast Fisheries Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts (PDF) (Report). NOAA Technical Report NMFS. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  7. Heegaard, P. E. (1941). "The Zoology of East Greenland – Decapod Crustaceans". Meddelelser om Grønland. 126 (6): 1–72.
  8. Davidson, E. R.; Hussey, Nigel Edward (December 2019). "Movements of a potential fishery resource, porcupine crab (Neolithodes grimaldii) in Northern Davis Strait, Eastern Canadian Arctic". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 154: 103143. Bibcode:2019DSRI..15403143D. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103143.
  9. He, Pingguo (August 2005). "Characteristics of bycatch of porcupine crabs, Neolithodes grimaldii (Milne-Edwards and Bouvier, 1894) from deepwater turbot gillnets in the northwest Atlantic". Fisheries Research. 74 (1–3): 35–43. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2005.04.002.
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