Uncommon Squat Lobster (Munida quadrispina) Sighting

Observation by Adrienne Fleek:

We found this squat lobster or pinch bug in our shrimp pot in Prince William Sound. We didn't know what it was (and returned it to the ocean) but found out they usually range from Baja CA, to Sitka, AK. Not sure if other folks have found these further north too?

Chris Siddon, Fisheries Scientist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, writes:

Yes, that certainly is a squat lobster! They are very common in our shrimp survey pots throughout southeastern AK and I’ve spoken to a few biologists that say while they aren’t abundant, they are caught in most of our scallop dredge surveys around the State (Yakutat, Kayak Island, Kachemak Bay, and Kodiak area). I haven’t verified where or how common they are in the scallop surveys. Additionally, we could look at some historic shrimp survey data from Prince William Sound (PWS) to maybe confirm their distribution in PWS (if bycatch data were collected).

Greg Jensen with the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, writes:

Yes, that's a squat lobster (Munida quadrispina). The previous furthest north (strictly by longitude) record that I know of is from Yakutat, AK; the furthest out was one I collected at Tanaga Island in the Aleutians.

Comments from LEO Editors:

This is the first squat lobster post in the LEO Network. It also marks the northernmost sighting of the Munida quadrispina in Alaska by about 145 miles. Despite the name, Munida quadrispina is more closely related to crabs than lobsters. Found in the eastern Pacific, squat lobsters prefer a rocky, low current, deep sea habitat, where they forage for small plankton, detritus, and carrion. Most sources of information put the species general range between Sitka, Alaska, and Los Coronados, Baja California. There is no commercial fishery for Munida quadrispina, but they are occasionally caught in traps and supposedly good to eat. Source: Wikipedia. Sarah Ingram