Red king crab

Paralithodes camtschaticus · The red king crab is the largest king crab species, living in the cold waters of the North Pacific and nearby seas, and it has also been introduced to the Barents Sea.

Also called Kamchatka crab, Alaskan king crab.

Red king crab
Photo: Sasha Isachenko, CC BY-SA 3.0
Red king crab
Photo: Bingar1234, CC BY-SA 4.0
Red king crab
Photo: David Csepp, NMFS/AKFSC/ABL., Public domain

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassMalacostraca
OrderDecapoda
FamilyLithodidae
GenusParalithodes
SpeciesParalithodes camtschaticus

Where it lives

Cold North Pacific seas and the Bering Sea; introduced to the Barents Sea.

Fun facts

  • A red king crab can have a leg span of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and weigh up to 12.7 kg (28 lb).
  • A living red king crab is usually burgundy; it is named for the red color it turns when cooked.
  • After about age two, young red king crabs gather in podding groups of hundreds of crabs packed tightly together.
  • Because the Soviet Union introduced them, red king crabs in Norway are sometimes nicknamed "Stalin's crabs".

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).