Lobsters are marine crustaceans whose first pair of legs is characteristically modified into two large, asymmetrical claws used for feeding. They belong to the family Nephropidae within the order Decapoda. Their bodies are typically bluish-green or greenish-brown, a coloration that helps them blend into the ocean floor.
These animals have exceptionally long lifespans, with some individuals estimated to reach around 100 years in the wild, and they grow by repeatedly shedding their exoskeleton. They are a commercially significant group, forming one of the most valuable fisheries in the North Atlantic, as several parts of a lobster’s body are consumed, including the tail, claws, legs, and hepatopancreas.
Members of this family typically measure between 10 and 20 in (25 to 50 cm). However, one specimen of the largest lobster species, the American lobster (Homarus americanus), which is also the heaviest marine crustacean ever recorded (according to Guinness World Records), measured 3 ft 6 in (1.06 m) from the end of the tail-fan to the tip of the largest claw. It weighed 44 lb 6 oz (20.14 kg).
One of the smallest species, the Cape lobster (Homarinus capensis), grows to a total length of about 3.9 in (10 cm).[1]
Their bodies are divided into 2 parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, both encased in a hard, protective exoskeleton.
This region is a fusion of the head and the thorax. The head part bears a pair of sensory antennae, antennules, and a pair of typically stalked compound eyes. It also contains the mandibles and two pairs of maxillae. Just behind the mandibles and maxillae are three pairs of feeding appendages called maxillipeds.
As decapods, the thorax bears five pairs (a total of ten) of walking legs called pereiopods, with the first pair modified into large claws or chelipeds. While one claw (the larger of the two) helps in crushing prey, the other serves as the pincer or cutter. Unlike crayfish, lobsters do not have a joint between the last two thoracic segments.
The abdominal region is muscular and comprises 6 clearly defined segments. Each segment bears a pair of pleopods, also known as swimmerets, which help in swimming.
This region also bears the tail fan, composed of the telson (central plate) and uropods (side paddles).
There are 54 extant species of lobsters classified into 14 genera.
These crustaceans inhabit every ocean except the waters surrounding Antarctica, although fossil evidence, such as that of Hoploparia antarctica, indicates that lobsters once lived in Antarctic seas.[2]
Most lobsters live in temperate to subtropical waters, but their distribution varies with species. For example, American lobster inhabits the cold Northwest Atlantic waters from Labrador and Newfoundland to North Carolina, whereas the European lobster (Homarus gammarus) occupies the Northeast Atlantic from Norway to Portugal and extends into the Mediterranean Sea. The Caribbean lobster (Metanephrops binghami) lives in the western Atlantic, including South Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. On the other hand, the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) inhabits deep muddy bottoms across the North Sea, Irish Sea, and Celtic Sea.
While young lobsters usually shelter in crevices or burrows in shallow waters, adults are more often found at greater depths, returning to shallower areas only seasonally.
Lobsters are opportunistic omnivores, typically feeding on live prey, including mollusks, small fish, marine worms, and other crustaceans, like crabs and shrimp. However, when primary prey is scarce, they consume algae and scavenge on fish carcasses.[3]
These animals typically move by walking slowly on the ocean floor. When under threat, they rapidly contract their abdominal muscles and push their tails under their bodies. This movement, known as caridoid escape reaction, pushes water forward, propelling the lobster backward at high speed. Although they can also swim in the forward direction using their pleopods, this motion is typically slow.
They feed mainly at night, detecting food through chemical cues in the water using their antennae. On locating prey, they seize it quickly with their large claws and use their maxillipeds to shred it into pieces.
Lobsters grow throughout their lives and are known for their exceptionally long lifespans. Although most species typically live between 10 and 40 years in the wild, some, such as the American lobster, have been recorded to have a maximum lifespan of 100 years.[4] In fact, the oldest specimen in the world, an American lobster named George, had an estimated age of 140 years.
Outside of water, lobsters typically live for 24 to 48 hours.
These crustaceans reproduce sexually, typically initiated by a premolt female that approaches a dominant male’s shelter. She signals her sexual receptivity to the male by releasing pheromone-rich urine from her facial nozzles.[5] Once the pair is ready to mate, the female molts, thereby allowing the male to deposit sperm packets (spermatophores) into a special receptacle under her abdomen.
After fertilization, the female extrudes thousands of eggs and attaches them to her pleopods, brooding them for 8 to 14 months. Depending on the species, the eggs hatch into planktonic larvae within 2 days to 3 weeks. The larva undergoes three molts, after which it metamorphoses into a juvenile, developing adult-like claws and settling on the substrate. The juvenile undergoes 3 to 5 molts per year and attains sexual maturity in 7 to 10 years.
The major predators of lobsters, particularly juveniles, are fish, including cod, haddock, flounders, and eels. They are also preyed upon by octopuses, large crab species, and seals.
While not primary predators, birds like cormorants, herons, gulls, and pelicans target juvenile lobsters in shallow waters.
In nurseries, juveniles of certain species, such as American and European lobsters, have been observed to cannibalize when kept in high-density conditions and food is limited.[6]
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