Editing King crab (section)

== Symbionts and parasites ==
Juveniles of species of king crabs, including ''[[Neolithodes diomedeae]]'', use a species (''[[Scotoplanes]] Sp. A'') of [[sea cucumber]] (often known as "sea pigs") as [[Symbiosis|hosts]] and can be found on top of and under ''Scotoplanes''. The ''Scotoplanes'' reduce the risk of predation for the ''N. diomedeae'', while the ''Scotoplanes'' are not harmed from being hosts, which supports the consensus that the two organisms have a [[commensalism|commensal]] relationship.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barry |first1=James P. |last2=Taylor |first2=Josi R. |last3=Kuhnz |first3=Linda A. |last4=DeVogelaere |first4=Andrew P. |date=2016-10-15 |title=Symbiosis between the holothurian ''Scotoplanes'' sp. A and the lithodid crab ''Neolithodes diomedeae'' on a featureless bathyal sediment plain |journal=Marine Ecology |volume=38 |issue=2 |page=e12396 |doi=10.1111/maec.12396 |eissn=1439-0485}}</ref> Endosymbiotic microorganisms of the order Eccrinida have been found in ''[[Paralithodes camtschaticus]]'' and ''[[Lithodes maja]]'', living in their [[hindgut]] between molts.<ref name="Pavlova 2018">{{cite journal|year=2018|last=Pavlova|first=L.V.|title=First Finding of Representatives of the Eccrinida Order in the Digestive Tract of King Crab Specie from the Barents Sea|journal=Doklady Biological Sciences|volume=483|issue=1 |issn=0012-4966|doi=10.1134/S0012496618060066|pmid=30603945|pages=231–234}}</ref>

Some species of king crab, including those of the genera ''[[Lithodes]]'', ''[[Neolithodes]]'', ''[[Paralithodes]]'', and likely ''[[Echidnocerus]]'', act as [[Host (biology)|hosts]] to some [[Parasitism|parasitic]] species of [[careproctus]] fish.<ref name="Gardner et al. 2016">{{cite journal |last1=Gardner |first1=Jennifer |last2=Orr |first2=James |last3=Stevenson |first3=Duane |last4=Spies |first4=Ingrid |last5=Somerton |first5=David |title=Reproductive Parasitism between Distant Phyla: Molecular Identification of Snailfish (Liparidae) Egg Masses in the Gill Cavities of King Crabs (Lithodidae) |journal= Copeia|date=August 15, 2016 |volume=104 |issue=3 |pages=645–657 |url=https://bioone.org/journals/copeia/volume-104/issue-3/CI-15-374/Reproductive-Parasitism-between-Distant-Phyla--Molecular-Identification-of-Snailfish/10.1643/CI-15-374.short |access-date=October 19, 2021 |doi=10.1643/CI-15-374|s2cid=89241686 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The careproctus lays eggs in the gill chamber of the king crab which serves as a well-protected and aerated area for the eggs to reside until they hatch.<ref name="Gardner et al. 2016" /> On occasion king crabs have been found to be host to the eggs of multiple species of careproctus simultaneously.<ref name="Gardner et al. 2016" /> King crabs are additionally parasitized by [[rhizocephala]]n genus ''Briarosaccus'', a type of barnacle.<ref name="Noever 2017">{{Cite thesis |last=Noever |first=Christoph |title=Coevolution between king crabs (Paguridae: Lithodinae) and parasitic barnacles (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala) |date=27 January 2017 |access-date=15 October 2024 |degree=Doctoral |publisher=[[University of Bergen]] |url=https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/handle/1956/16605}}</ref> The barnacle irreversibly sterilizes the crab, and over 50% of some king crab populations are affected.<ref name="Noever 2017" />