Paralomis
Genus of king crabs
title: "Paralomis" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["king-crabs", "decapod-genera", "taxa-named-by-adam-white-(zoologist)"] description: "Genus of king crabs" topic_path: "general/king-crabs" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralomis" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of king crabs ::
| image = Paralomis granulosa - Canal Beagle.jpg | image_caption = Paralomis granulosa | taxon = Paralomis | authority = White, 1856 | type_species = Paralomis granulosa | type_species_authority = (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846) | synonyms = | Acantholithus | Stimpson, 1858 | Leptolithodes | Benedict, 1895 | Pristopus | Benedict, 1895 | synonyms_ref =
Paralomis is a widely distributed, highly speciose, and morphologically diverse genus of king crabs in the subfamily Lithodinae.
Description
Like all king crabs, Paralomis has evolved a crab-like appearance through a process called carcinisation. Paralomis has either a pentagonal or pyriform carapace. At the very front, its rostrum consists of one short, conical spine projecting forward in the middle and one or more pairs of spines angled upward around the base. Like all king crabs, the gastric region, directly behind the rostrum, is elevated above the others. Like Lithodes and Neolithodes, the cardiac region – directly behind the gastric region, separated by a deep groove – is triangular. Its three pairs of walking legs – morphologically similar, with the middle pair typically being the longest – are not covered at their bases by the carapace. In adults, the undersides of the dactyli feature horn-like spines. The abdomen is more calcified than in other king crab genera: the second segment is undivided, the third segment has fused submedian and marginal (outer) plates, and segments three, four, and five are all entirely calcified.
Distribution
Paralomis is present in four of Earth's five oceans – namely the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern – as well as all seven continents. They are found from the very shallow intertidal zone to the deep, perpetually dark abyssal zone. The deepest known species of Paralomis is P. bouvieri, which has been discovered living at 4152 m.
Taxonomy
Paralomis was described in 1856 by zoologist Adam White and named for its similarity to the genus Lomis. In 1895, marine biologist James Everard Benedict incorrectly placed Paralomis granulosa, the genus' type species, under the genus Lithodes. Benedict therefore dissolved the genus and created two now-defunct ones – Leptolithodes and Pristopus – for other members of Paralomis. Paralomis is closely related to Echidnocerus, and the monospecific genus Glyptolithodes – nested cladistically inside Paralomis – may simply be a species of Paralomis.
Paralomis contains over 70 species – more than any other king crab genus – and is the most morphologically diverse genus in the subfamily Lithodinae. It contains one fossil species, Paralomis debodeorum, which lived in New Zealand in the Middle–Late Miocene. Paralomis is distinguished from other king crabs by its abdominal segments: the second is undivided, and the third, fourth, and fifth are entirely calcified. Current scientific consensus is that Paralomis is monophyletic, although within this group, carcinologist Shane T. Ahyong in 2010 identified several informal subgroups of Paralomis. Paralomis relationship to other king crabs can be seen in the following cladogram:
Species
Paralomis contains the following species: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Paralomis aculeata.png | 120px]] | Paralomis aculeata Henderson, 1888 | |
| Paralomis africana Macpherson, 1982 | Namibia | ||
| Paralomis alcockiana Hall & Thatje, 2009 | |||
| Paralomis alis Ahyong, 2020 | |||
| [[File:NMNH-Paralomis_anamerae-000001.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis anamerae Macpherson, 1988 | |
| [[File:Paralomis arae holotype plate dorsal.png | 120px]] | Paralomis arae Macpherson, 2001 | |
| Paralomis arethusa Macpherson, 1994 | |||
| Paralomis aspera Faxon, 1893 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis_birsteini_dorsal.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis birsteini Macpherson, 1988 | |
| [[File:Paralomis bouvieri illustration.png | 120px]] | Paralomis bouvieri Hansen, 1908 | |
| Paralomis ceres Macpherson, 1989 | |||
| Paralomis chilensis Andrade, 1980 | |||
| Paralomis cristata Takeda & Ohta, 1979 | |||
| Paralomis cristulata Macpherson, 1988 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis cubensis dorsal schematic illustration.png | 120px]] | Paralomis cubensis Chace, 1939 | |
| Paralomis danida Takeda & Bussarawit, 2007 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis dawsoni holotype plate.png | 120px]] | Paralomis dawsoni Macpherson, 2001 | |
| Paralomis debodeorum Feldmann, 1998 † | New Zealand (Middle–Late Miocene) | ||
| Paralomis diomedeae (Faxon, 1893) | |||
| Paralomis dofleini Balss, 1911 | |||
| Paralomis echidna Ahyong, 2010 | |||
| Paralomis elongata Spiridonov, Turkay, Arntz & Thatje, 2006 | |||
| Paralomis erinacea Macpherson, 1988 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis formosa dorsal MA I526481.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis formosa Henderson, 1888 | |
| Paralomis gowlettholmes Ahyong, 2010 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis_granulosa_-_Canal_Beagle.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis granulosa (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1846) | False king crab, Chilean snow crab |
| Paralomis grossmani Macpherson, 1988 | |||
| Paralomis haigae Eldredge, 1976 | |||
| Paralomis hirtella de Saint Laurent & Macpherson, 1997 | Lau Basin, North Fiji Basin | ||
| [[File:Paralomis_hystrix_2.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis histrix (De Haan, 1849) | |
| Paralomis hystrixoides Sakai, 1980 | |||
| Paralomis inca Haig, 1974 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis_indica_FMIB_45483_Deceptive_Hermit-Crab_of_the_Lithodes_Group.jpeg | 120px]] | Paralomis indica Alcock & Anderson, 1899 | |
| [[File:Paralomis investigatoris photo-etching dorsal.png | 120px]] | Paralomis investigatoris Alcock & Anderson, 1899 | |
| Paralomis jamsteci Takeda & Hashimoto, 1990 | |||
| Paralomis japonica Balss, 1911 | |||
| Paralomis kyushupalauensis Takeda, 1985 | |||
| Paralomis longidactylus Birstein & Vinogradov, 1972 | |||
| Paralomis longipes Faxon, 1893 | |||
| Paralomis macphersoni Muñoz & García-Isarch, 2013 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis makarovi specimen labels.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis makarovi Hall & Thatje, 2009 | |
| Paralomis manningi Williams, Smith & Baco, 2000 | Deep-sea spider crab | West Coast of the United States | |
| Paralomis medipacifica Takeda, 1974 | |||
| Paralomis mendagnai Macpherson, 2003 | |||
| Paralomis microps Filhol, 1884 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis multispina dorsal NHMD86925.tif | 120px]] | Paralomis multispina (Benedict, 1895) | |
| Paralomis nivosa Hall & Thatje, 2009 | |||
| Paralomis ochthodes Macpherson, 1988 | Indonesia (Gulf of Boni) | ||
| Paralomis odawarai (Sakai, 1980) | |||
| Paralomis okitoriensis Takeda, 2019 | Okinotorishima | ||
| Paralomis otsuae Wilson, 1990 | |||
| Paralomis pacifica Sakai, 1978 | |||
| Paralomis papillata (Benedict, 1895) | |||
| Paralomis papua Ahyong, 2020 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis pectinata dorsal schematic illustration.png | 120px]] | Paralomis pectinata Macpherson, 1988 | |
| Paralomis phrixa Macpherson, 1992 | |||
| Paralomis poorei Ahyong, 2010 | |||
| Paralomis roeleveldae Kensley, 1981 | |||
| Paralomis seagranti Eldredge, 1976 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis serrata dorsal schematic illustration.png | 120px]] | Paralomis serrata Macpherson, 1988 | |
| Paralomis sonne Guzmán, 2009 | |||
| [[File:Paralomis spectabilis illustration.png | 120px]] | Paralomis spectabilis Hansen, 1908 | |
| [[File:Paralomis spinosissima dorsal MA I526480.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis spinosissima Birstein & Vinogradov, 1972 | |
| Paralomis staplesi Ahyong, 2010 | Tasman Fracture, Tonga–Kermadec Ridge | ||
| Paralomis stella Macpherson, 1988 | |||
| Paralomis stevensi Ahyong & Dawson, 2006 | |||
| Paralomis taylorae Ahyong, 2010 | |||
| Paralomis truncatispinosa Takeda & Miyake, 1980 | East China Sea, Taiwan | ||
| Paralomis tuberipes Macpherson, 1988 | Chile () | ||
| [[File:Paralomis_verrilli.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis verrilli (Benedict, 1895) | |
| Paralomis webberi Ahyong, 2010 | New Zealand | ||
| [[File:Paralomis_zealandica_NIWA_specimen.jpg | 120px]] | Paralomis zealandica Dawson & Yaldwyn, 1971 | Prickly king crab |
| :: |
References
References
- Ahyong, Shane T.. (12 December 2023). "''Paralomis'' White, 1856".
- (2023). "Marine Decapod Crustacea: A Guide to Families and Genera of the World". CRC Press.
- Ahyong, Shane T.. (2010). "The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae)". [[National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research]].
- White, Adam. (1856). "Some remarks on Crustacea of the genus Lithodes, with a brief description of a species apparently hitherto unrecorded". [[Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London]].
- Benedict, James Everard. (1895). "Descriptions of new genera and species of crabs of the family LIthodidæ, with notes on the young of ''Lithodes camtschaticus'' and ''Lithodes brevipes''". [[Proceedings of the United States National Museum]].
- Hall, Sally. "Evolution through cold and deep waters: the molecular phylogeny of the Lithodidae (Crustacea: Decapoda)". [[The Science of Nature]].
- Macpherson, Enrique. (May 1988). "Revision of the family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in the Atlantic Ocean". Monografías de Zoología Marina.
- (2017-07-05). "The origin of king crabs: hermit crab ancestry under the magnifying glass". [[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]].
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