Paralomis multispina

Paralomis multispina, also known as the many-spined king crab,^[2][3] is a species of king crab.^[4]

Paralomis multispina
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Anomura
Family:	Lithodidae
Genus:	Paralomis
Species:	P. multispina
Binomial name
Paralomis multispina (Benedict, 1895)
Synonyms[1]
Leptolithodes multispinus Benedict, 1895

Description

Paralomis multispina has a scarlet red to pale pink in colour, and the spines are dark red.^[5][6][7] Its pyriform carapace, chelipeds and walking legs are covered by stout, sharp-tipped, conical spines that are flattened at an oblique, posterior-facing angle.^[8][9] These spines are surrounded by a circumference of short setae around the flattened posterior face.^[10] The spines are numerous and densely distributed across both the dorsal surface and lateral margins of the carapace.^[11][12] They reach up to 80 mm (3.1 in) in carapace length, although 105 mm (4.1 in) are recorded, and some specimens reaches 110 mm (4.3 in) wide and 115 mm (4.5 in) long.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Distribution and habitat

Paralomis multispina inhabits the North Pacific Ocean, with confirmed records from Sagami Bay, Japan in the west to Shumagin Bank, Alaska in the north, extending south to Guadalupe Island, Baja California and Carmen Island in the Gulf of California.^[18][19] The species is particularly well-documented from waters around Japan and the western coast of North America.^[20]

The species occupies deep continental slope environments at depths ranging from 600–1,665 m (1,969–5,463 ft), though most commonly found between 1,100–1,577 m (3,609–5,174 ft) on muddy substrates.^[21][22][23] This places P. multispina firmly within the bathyal zone, where it has evolved specialized adaptations for life in the deep sea. The species has been discovered in association with cold seeps off Japan, indicating its presence in chemosynthetic ecosystems.^[24][25]

Taxonomy

Paralomis multispina was described by James Everard Benedict in 1895, whose are similar to Paralomis longipes, another species known from Peru, which the two of them are very similar but differientated by the spines and carapace which P. multispina has.^[26]

Its genus name Paralomis was established by Adam White in 1856 and is named for its similarity to the genus Lomis, a smaller but related genus of king crabs. The specific name multispina is Latin for "many spines", referring to the crab's characteristic heavily spinose carapace covered with numerous spines.^[27]

Ecology

Paralomis multispina is an important component of deep-sea benthic communities. The species has been commercially harvested by trapping, indicating its significance in regional fisheries. P. multispina is caught using crab-traps or crab-pots, often baited with fish heads, as practiced in Japan's Suruga Bay.^[28] The fishery involves setting strings of pots on the seafloor, sometimes at depths around 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and hauling them aboard for sorting and sampling.^[29][30][31] The Caprella ungulina, which is a parasite known to have found in the legs, some were on the mouth-parts.^[32][33][34]