Brodie's King Crab

Neolithodes brodiei

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth819–1,188 m
Water temperature-2–28 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Neolithodes brodiei, also known as Brodie's king crab, is a species of king crab that is native to New Zealand and its adjacent waters. It lives at a depth of 500–1,240 metres (1,640–4,070 ft) but is typically found within a range of 950–1,150 metres (3,120–3,770 ft). It is the most widespread and common king crab in New Zealand waters, and the New Zealand Department of Conservation has classified it as "Not Threatened" in 2013 and 2023.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Neolithodes brodiei”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 4 records
February: 0 records
March: 12 records
April: 13 records
May: 1 records
June: 2 records
July: 7 records
August: 7 records
September: 5 records
October: 2 records
November: 10 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 819–1,188 m · Deepest record: 1,513 m

140–150 m: 1 records
150–160 m: 0 records
160–170 m: 0 records
170–180 m: 0 records
180–190 m: 0 records
190–200 m: 0 records
200–210 m: 0 records
210–220 m: 0 records
220–230 m: 0 records
230–240 m: 0 records
240–250 m: 0 records
250+ m: 576 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -2–28 °C

-2–0 °C: 1 records
0–2 °C: 0 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 9 records
8–10 °C: 77 records
10–12 °C: 91 records
12–14 °C: 133 records
14–16 °C: 188 records
16–18 °C: 78 records
18–20 °C: 6 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Brodie's King Crab

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
584 open-data records from 1965 to 2018.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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