Lithodes maja, without a doubt my favourite from today's catches. A close relative to the well-known King Crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, though it doesn't reach the impressive size of the star crustacean of Deadliest Catch. Telling the two species apart can be tricky with smaller specimens, but there are a few tricks to use.

Despite the name, however, neither maja nor camtschaticus is a true crab, belonging to the Anomurans. In this photo we see tell-tale proof of this: Only 8 visible limbs, the tentht pair reduced unto near-invisibility, hidden beneath the animals abdomen, only visible if one forces the abdomen open, something our pictured friend is none too happy about. I spared her the humiliation :)