72 
Fishery Bulletin 1 14(1) 
Figure 3 
Average (A) egg area, (B) egg diameter, and (C) embryo 
area for all embryos measured during each 20-day in- 
crement throughout larval development of golden king 
crab (Lithodes aequispinus). Error bars indicate ±1 
standard deviation of the mean. 
change, and, as a result, the eye became more oblong in 
shape (Figs. IK and 5B). Additionally, development of 
the ommatidia gave the eye a visibly granular texture 
and caused a halo effect around the eye. This stage, 
beginning on day 340, was the longest one, lasting 95 
days on average (Table 1). The end of this stage was 
marked by the beginning of hatching. 
Time (days) 
Figure 4 
Average (A) yolk area and (B) percent area of yolk for 
all embryos measured during each 20-day increment 
throughout embryo development of golden king crab 
(Lithodes aequispinus) . Error bars indicate ±1 standard 
deviation of the mean. 
Stage 12 (hatching) 
During hatching, embryos reached their maximum size, 
and the yolks reached their minimum, at about 40% of 
the total area of the egg (Figs. 1L, 3, and 4). The ante- 
rior and posterior sections of the yolk became differenti- 
ated from each other, with the posterior becoming more 
globular and less distinct (Fig. 1L). Hatching began on 
about day 436, and the last day of hatching occurred on 
average at 464 days (SD 8.6), and the average duration 
of hatching was 25.7 days (SD 6.1) (Table 1). 
Morphometric analysis 
The first 2 principal components (PCs) of the PCA 
explained 83.3% and 9.5% of the variance in embryo 
morphometries of golden king crab and were retained 
(Table 2). The first PC was positively correlated with 
yolk size, negatively correlated with embryo, eye, and 
egg size, and was interpreted as embryo maturity, and 
