Findings of Mating Individuals of the Northern Stone Crab Lithodes maja Linnaeus, 1758 (Decapoda: Lithodidae) in Russian Waters of the Barents Sea

Two cases of mating individuals of the northern stone crab Lithodes maja have been recorded from the Russian waters of the Barents Sea. These king crabs were found during diving near the Murman Coast at depths of 7 and 15 m at a water temperature of 5–7°C. The minimum sizes of the mature individuals of this species in carapace width were 104 mm for males and 75 mm for females. The eastern boundary of the breeding range for L. maja in the North Atlantic can be considered as 68.59° N, 33.01° E.