King crabs are decapodcrustaceans of the familyLithodidae[b] that are chiefly found in deep waters and are adapted to cold environments.[2][3] They are composed of two subfamilies: Lithodinae, which tend to inhabit deep waters, are globally distributed, and comprise the majority of the family's species diversity;[3][4] and Hapalogastrinae, which are endemic to the North Pacific and inhabit exclusively shallow waters.[3] King crabs superficially resemble true crabs but are generally understood to be closest to the pagurid hermit crabs.[2][4][5] This placement of king crabs among the hermit crabs is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs.[6] Although some doubt still exists about this hypothesis, king crabs are the most widely quoted example of carcinisation among decapods.[6] Several species of king crabs, especially in Alaskan and southern South American waters, are targeted by commercial fisheries and have been subject to overfishing.[2][7][8]
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^ abcdPoore, Gary C. B.; Ahyong, Shane T. (2023). "Anomura". Marine Decapod Crustacea: A Guide to Families and Genera of the World. CRC Press. pp. 311–317. ISBN978-1-4863-1178-1.
^Cite error: The named reference Ahyong 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abKeiler, Jonas; Richter, Stefan; Wirkner, Christian S. (2013-03-19). "Evolutionary morphology of the hemolymph vascular system in hermit and king crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomala)". Journal of Morphology. 274 (7): 759–778. doi:10.1002/jmor.20133. PMID23508935. S2CID24458262.
^Dvoretsky, Alexander G.; Dvoretsky, Vladimir G. (November 2017). "Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) fisheries in Russian waters: historical review and present status". Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 28 (2): 331–353. doi:10.1007/s11160-017-9510-1. ISSN0960-3166.
^Cite error: The named reference Klaus et al. 2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).