Invertebrates
Southern King Crab
Lithodes santolla · also called Patagonian king crab
Armoured in sharp spines and scuttling across the cold seafloor of the Beagle Channel, a southern king crab looks every bit a true crab, yet its closest relatives are actually the far smaller hermit crabs sharing the same Patagonian waters.
Overview
The southern king crab, Lithodes santolla, is a Least Concern invertebrate native to ocean and coastal habitat around the southern tip of South America, including Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Its imposing armoured size, true kinship with hermit crabs rather than genuine crabs, and importance to local fisheries make it one of the more economically and ecologically significant crustaceans found anywhere in the region.
A crab that isn’t quite a crab
Despite its heavily armoured shell and imposing size, genetics place the southern king crab firmly closer to hermit crabs than to true crabs, one of several examples worldwide of a crab-like body plan evolving independently in an unrelated lineage.
Status
Least Concern, remaining present across suitable cold coastal habitat around Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, managed under fishery quotas in parts of its commercially significant range.
Southern King Crab: common questions
Is the southern king crab a true crab?
No, this species is more closely related to hermit crabs than to true crabs, part of the same broader group as other king crab species found in different oceans around the world.
Why is the southern king crab commercially important?
This species is large enough and abundant enough to support an important commercial fishery across parts of southern Chile and Argentina, valued for its meat.
Where is the southern king crab found?
This species is found in cold coastal waters around Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, including the Beagle Channel and surrounding fjords at the southern tip of South America.
Why can overfishing affect the southern king crab so severely?
This species grows relatively slowly and can live for a number of years, a combination that makes populations slow to recover once reduced by sustained overfishing pressure.