Red king crab
Paralithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815)
Status not recordedcrabs and lobsters
The red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup, belonging to the family Lithodidae. It is classified in the order Decapoda, suborder Pleocyemata, superfamily Lithodoidea and genus Paralithodes, within the class Malacostraca and phylum Arthropoda.
Quick facts about the red king crab
Its scientific name carries the authority (Tilesius, 1815), and other English names for it include King crab, Russian crab, Japanese crab, Kamchatka crab and Alaskan king crab. The Catalogue of Life lists it as a living species, not extinct.
- Weight
- up to 12.7 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What eats the red king crab?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- Bodini, A., Bellingeri, M., Allesina, S. and Bondavalli, C. 2009. Using food web dominator trees to catch secondary extinctions in action. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 364: 1725-1731.
- Globi
Photos of the red king crab
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
.jpg){kind=link}
Where does the red king crab live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the red king crab as introduced in 3 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the red king crab?
The red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus), also called Kamchatka crab or Alaskan king crab, is a species of king crab native to cold waters in the North Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas, but also introduced to the Barents Sea. It grows to a leg span of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), and is heavily targeted by fisheries.
From the Wikipedia article “Red king crab” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_king_crab&oldid=1374682832), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the red king crab endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the red king crab classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classMalacostraca
- orderDecapoda
- familyLithodidae
- genusParalithodes
- SpeciesParalithodes camtschaticus (Tilesius, 1815)
Synonyms Lithodes japonica, Lithodes japonicus, Lithodes spinosissimus, Maja camtschatica, Paralithodes camtschatica, Paralithodes rostrofalcatus
Other names and names in other languages (31)
- Alaskan king crabEnglish
- Alaskan king stone crabEnglish
- Japanese crabEnglish
- Kamchatka crabEnglish
- King crabEnglish
- Russian crabEnglish
- cámbaru de KamchatkaAsturian
- krab kamčatskýCzech
- KönigskrabbeGerman
- Alaska-KönigskrabbeGerman
- Kamschatka-KrabbeGerman
- KamtschatkakrabbeGerman
- Cangrejo reySpanish
- Centolla de Alaska (Cangrejo rey rojo)Spanish
- Kamtšatka ebakrabiEstonian
- crabe royal du KamtchatkaFrench
- Granchio giganteItalian
- Granchio reale rossoItalian
- Granchio trottatoreItalian
- Re granchio rossoItalian
- タラバガニJapanese
- 왕게Korean
- Kamčiatkinis karališkasis krabasLithuanian
- kongekrabbeNorwegian Bokmål
- KamtsjatkakrabDutch
- Rode koningskrabDutch
- czerwony krab królewskiPolish
- Камчатский крабRussian
- kungskrabbaSwedish
- kamtjatkakrabbaSwedish
- 堪察加擬石蟹Chinese
Relatives of the red king crab
Other species in the same genus Paralithodes.
Blue king crab
Paralithodes platypus
Brown king crab
Paralithodes brevipes
California king crab
Paralithodes californiensis
Spiny king crab
Paralithodes rathbuni
CompareRed king crab vs Blue king crabRed king crab vs Brown king crabRed king crab vs California king crabRed king crab vs Spiny king crab
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What is the scientific name of the red king crab?
The scientific name of the red king crab is Paralithodes camtschaticus, in the genus Paralithodes.
What kind of animal is the red king crab?
The red king crab is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup, classified in the family Lithodidae and the order Decapoda.
What are other names for the red king crab?
Other English names for the red king crab are King crab, Russian crab, Japanese crab, Kamchatka crab and Alaskan king crab.
Is the red king crab extinct?
No, the red king crab is a living species, not extinct, according to the Catalogue of Life.
What family does the red king crab belong to?
The red king crab belongs to the family Lithodidae, in the superfamily Lithodoidea.
Is the red king crab an invasive species?
In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the red king crab as invasive in 2 countries: Norway and Russia. It lists it as introduced in 3 in all.
What eats the red king crab?
Animals recorded preying on the red king crab include thornback and round ray. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-king-crab
“Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-king-crab.
@misc{red_king_crab_2026,
title = {Red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-king-crab},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}