Spiny
Lobster
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Achelata
Family: Palinuridae
Genera
* Jasus
* Linuparus
* Palinurellus
* Palinurus
* Panulirus
Spiny lobsters, also known as rock lobsters are a family
(Palinuridae) of about 45 species of achelate crustaceans,
in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also called
crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish.
Although they superficially resemble true lobsters in
terms of overall shape, and having a hard carapace and
exoskeleton, the two groups are quite unrelated. Spiny
lobsters can be easily distinguished from true lobsters
by their very long, thick, spiny antennae, and by their
complete lack of claws (chelae); true lobsters have much
smaller antennae and claws on the first three pairs of
legs, with the first being particularly enlarged. Like
true lobsters, however, spiny lobsters are edible and
are an economically significant food source; they are
the biggest food export of the Bahamas.
The furry lobsters (e.g. Palinurellus) are sometimes
separated into a family of their own, the Synaxidae, but
are usually considered members of the Palinuridae. The
slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are their next closest
relatives, and these two or three families make up the
Achelata. Genera of spiny lobsters include Palinurus and
a number of anagrams thereof: Panulirus, Linuparus, etc.
(Palinurus was also a helmsman in Virgil's Æneid.)
Spiny lobsters are found in almost all warm seas, including
the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, but are particularly
common around Australasia, where they are referred to
commonly as crayfish (Jasus novaehollandiae and Jasus
edwardsii) and South Africa (Jasus lalandii). Spiny lobsters
tend to live in crevices of rocks and coral reefs, only
occasionally venturing out at night to seek snails, clams,
crabs, sea urchins or carrion to eat. Sometimes, they
migrate en masse, in long files of lobsters across the
sea floor. Potential predators may be deterred from eating
spiny lobsters by a loud screech made by the antennae
of the spiny lobsters rubbing against a smooth part of
the exoskeleton.
See also
• Crustacean
• Lobster
• Reef
Lobster
• How
to Boil Lobster
• How
to Eat Lobster
• Live
Maine Lobsters
Recipes:
• Baked
Stuffed Lobster
• Seafood
Stuffed Lobster
Other:
• Blue
Lobsters are Real
This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Spiny Lobster".
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