king crab Definition

horseshoe crab

any of several very large crabs; especially : one (Paralithoides camtschaticus) of the North Pacific caught commercially for food

any of several closely related marine arthropods (order Xiphosura and class Merostomata) with a broad crescentic cephalothorax, six pairs of legs, and a spikelike tail; especially : one (Limulus polyphemus) of coastal waters from Maine to the Yucatán Peninsula —called also king crab

any of three king crabs (Parlithodes camtschaticus, P. platypus, and Lithodes aequispinus) harvested commercially in waters off the coast of Alaska