Porcupine Crab

Paralomis histrix

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth481–769 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary and July
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Emőke Dénes, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The Japanese porcupine crab (Paralomis histrix) is a species of king crab. It lives at a depth of 180–400 m (590–1,310 ft) in Tokyo Bay, Enshunada and through to Kyūshū. It has few predators because of its size and spiky carapace. It is sometimes kept in public aquariums and is occasionally referred to as the porcupine crab, a name otherwise used for Neolithodes grimaldii.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Japanese porcupine crab”, 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: 0 records
February: 2 records
March: 0 records
April: 1 records
May: 0 records
June: 0 records
July: 2 records
August: 0 records
September: 1 records
October: 0 records
November: 0 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 481–769 m · Deepest record: 1,084.5 m

360–370 m: 1 records
370–380 m: 0 records
380–390 m: 0 records
390–400 m: 0 records
400–410 m: 2 records
410–420 m: 0 records
420–430 m: 0 records
430–440 m: 0 records
440–450 m: 0 records
450–460 m: 0 records
460–470 m: 1 records
470+ m: 43 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 3 records
8–10 °C: 16 records
10–12 °C: 13 records
12–14 °C: 11 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 3 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Porcupine Crab

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: イガグリガニ

Other scientific names: Lithodes histrix

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).
52 open-data records from 1992 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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