Paralomis dawsoni

Paralomis dawsoni is a species of king crab that lives in New Caledonia, northern New Zealand, and the Solomon Islands at depths of 400–1,118 m (1,312–3,668 ft).^[2][3][4] Alongside P. zealandica, it is one of the two most common species of Paralomis in New Zealand.^[3] As of 2023^[update], the Department of Conservation in New Zealand classifies P. dawsoni as "Naturally Uncommon".^[1]

Paralomis dawsoni
Conservation status
Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Anomura
Family:	Lithodidae
Genus:	Paralomis
Species:	P. dawsoni
Binomial name
Paralomis dawsoni Macpherson, 2001[2]

Description

P. dawsoni is orange-red or red-brown in colour and has a subhexagonal carapace covered uniformly in blunt tubercles.^[3] Tubercles and coarse spines cover its legs, and its chelipeds are especially spinose.^[3] It is the largest species of Paralomis known to occur in New Zealand, with one specimen measured to have a post-pseudorostral carapace length of 142.7 mm (5.62 in) and a carapace width of 139.8 mm (5.50 in).^[3]

Taxonomy

The species name "dawsoni" is dedicated to Elliot Watson Dawson of the National Museum of New Zealand.^[2]