|
|
|
Photos.com
|
|
|
LOBSTER,
common name for marine decapod (that is, with five pairs of
appendages on the thorax) crustaceans of the suborder Reptantia,
section Astacura, which are 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), Homarus americanus, occurs
only off the eastern coast of North America, from Labrador to North
Carolina. The majority of the adults are found on the bottom of
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).
The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus, is
found in greatest abundance around France, Scotland, Iceland, and
Spain. The European lobster, Homarus vulgaris, is
taken mainly off Turkey, the British Isles, France, Italy, Norway,
and Portugal.
The spiny lobsters, or rock lobsters, which are sometimes
referred to only as lobsters, lack the enlarged claws of the true
lobsters. Various species of spiny lobsters occur around the world;
the most common genus is Panulirus. Commercial
catches originate largely in the waters off South Africa and Namibia,
Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, Brazil, Cuba, the U.S., Mexico,
and the Bahamas.