Lobster

Lobster, common name for marine decapod (that is, with five pairs of appendages on the thorax) crustaceans closely related to the freshwater crayfishes.

The three species of true lobsters are generally considered to have an excellent flavor and are important to commercial fisheries in North America and Europe. The American and European lobsters are characterized by an enlarged, almost bulbous, pair of pincers or chelapeds; the chelapeds of the Norway lobster are relatively longer and thinner. In the true lobsters these are enlarged "claws"; one is usually a heavier crusher claw and the other a smaller biting claw. The head bears two pairs of antennae; the eyes are compound, and the tail is fanlike. The female lays many thousands of eggs, usually once every two years, and the tiny young drift and swim for up to five weeks before settling on the bottom. They grow by molting and may live for about 15 years. All lobsters are primarily scavengers.

The American lobster (known in international fishery records as the northern lobster) occurs only off the eastern coast of North America, from Labrador to North Carolina. The majority of the adults are found on the bottom at depths of 3 to 30 m (10 to 100 ft), with some occurring as deep as 180 m (600 ft). They are usually caught in baited traps called lobster pots. The American lobster reaches an average length of about 25 cm (about 10 in) and a usual weight of about 0.9 to 2.2 kg (about 2 to 5 lb); the record for the species is 20 kg (45 lb). Since 1990 American lobster populations in Long Island Sound have suffered periodic large-scale die-offs that have threatened the lobster fishing industry in that area. Marine experts are unsure of the cause but they suspect that an unidentified pathogen may be killing the lobsters.

The Norway lobster is found in greatest abundance around France, Scotland, Iceland, and Spain. The European lobster is taken mainly off Turkey, the British Isles, France, Italy, Norway, and Portugal.

The spiny lobsters, or rock lobsters, sometimes referred to only as lobsters, lack the enlarged claws of the true lobsters. Various species of spiny lobsters occur around the world. Commercial catches originate largely in the waters off South Africa and South-West Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, Brazil, Cuba, the United States, Mexico, and the Bahamas.

Scientific classification: Lobsters belong to the suborder Reptantia of the order Decapoda. The American lobster is classified as Homarus americanus, the Norway lobster as Nephrops norvegicus, and the European lobster as Homarus gammarus. Most spiny lobsters are classified in the genus Panulirus.

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