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The red king crab is the largest species of king crab. [2] Red king crabs can reach a carapace width up to 28 cm (11 in), a leg span of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), [3] and a weight of 12.7 kg (28 lb). [4] Males grow larger than females.
The phylogeny of king crabs as hermit crabs who underwent secondary calcification and left their shell has been suspected since the late 1800s. [4] They are believed to have originated during the Early Miocene in shallow North Pacific waters, where most king crab genera – including all Hapalogastrinae – are distributed and where they exhibit a high amount of morphological diversity.
Much of this foreign crab is reportedly caught and imported illegally and has led to a steady decline in the price of crab from $3.55 per pound in 2003 to $3.21 in 2004, $2.74 in 2005 and $2.30 in 2007 for Aleutian golden king crab, and $5.15 per pound in 2003 to $4.70 in 2004 to $4.52 in 2005 and $4.24 in 2007 for Bristol Bay red king crab.
They eat other invertebrates on the benthic shelf like crustaceans, bivalves, brittle stars, polychaetes, phytobenthos, foraminiferans, annelid worms, and mollusks. They are also fed on by halibut, cod, larger snow crabs, seals, squid, and Alaskan king crabs. Snow crabs are also highly sought after for the commercial fishing industry.
Crabs vary in size from the pea crab, a few millimeters wide, to the Japanese spider crab, with a leg span up to 4 m (13 ft). [6] Several other groups of crustaceans with similar appearances – such as king crabs and porcelain crabs – are not true crabs, but have evolved features similar to true crabs through a process known as carcinisation.
Alaska fishermen will be able to harvest red king crab for the first time in two years, offering a slight reprieve to the beleaguered fishery beset by low numbers likely exacerbated by climate change.
Juvenile Puget Sound king crabs are primarily orange with some patches of red and purple. As they grow into adulthood, the E. cibarius form a more mixed shell color of red, orange, and purple. They can also grow to be an average size of 6–10 inches (15–25 cm), with a carapace, or the dorsal side of the exoskeleton, growing upwards of 12 ...
The Tasmanian giant crab is one of the largest crabs in the world, reaching a mass of 17.6 kg (39 lb) and a carapace width of up to 46 cm (18 in). [6] Among crabs, only the Japanese spider crab (Macrocheira kaempferi) can weigh more. [5] Male Tasmanian giant crabs reach more than twice the size of females, [7] which do not exceed 7 kg (15 lb). [6]