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Lobsters are a
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
(Nephropidae,
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
Homaridae) of marine
crustaceans Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as
seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...
, lobsters are economically important and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate. Commercially important species include two species of ''
Homarus ''Homarus'' is a genus of lobsters, which include the common and commercially significant species ''Homarus americanus'' (the American lobster) and ''Homarus gammarus'' (the European lobster). The Cape lobster, which was formerly in this genus ...
'' from the northern Atlantic Ocean and
scampi Scampi, also called Dublin Bay Prawn or Norway Lobster (''Nephrops norvegicus''), is an edible lobster of the order '' Decapoda''. It is widespread in the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic, from North Africa to Norway and Iceland, and i ...
(which look more like a
shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
, or a "mini lobster")—the Northern Hemisphere genus '' Nephrops'' and the Southern Hemisphere genus '' Metanephrops''.


Distinction

Although several other groups of crustaceans have the word "lobster" in their names, the unqualified term "lobster" generally refers to the clawed lobsters of the family Nephropidae. Clawed lobsters are not closely related to
spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, So ...
s or
slipper lobster Slipper lobsters are a family (Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda clade Reptantia, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lo ...
s, which have no claws (
chelae A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...
), or to
squat lobster Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which form part of the decapod infraorder Anomura, alongside ...
s. The most similar living relatives of clawed lobsters are the
reef lobster Reef lobsters, ''Enoplometopus'', are a genus of small lobsters that live on reefs in the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Description Species of ''Enoplometopus'' occur from coral reefs at depths of less than to ...
s and the three families of freshwater
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
.


Description


Body

Lobsters are
invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s with a hard protective
exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...
. Like most
arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s, lobsters must
shed A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones de ...
to grow, which leaves them vulnerable. During the shedding process, several species change color. Lobsters have eight walking legs; the front three pairs bear claws, the first of which are larger than the others. The front pincers are also biologically considered legs, so they belong in the order Decapods ("ten-footed"). Although lobsters are largely
bilaterally symmetrical Symmetry in biology refers to the symmetry observed in organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. External symmetry can be easily seen by just looking at an organism. For example, take the face of a human being which has a pla ...
like most other arthropods, some
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
possess unequal, specialized claws. Lobster anatomy includes two main body parts: the
cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...
and the
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
. The cephalothorax fuses the head and the
thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...
, both of which are covered by a
chitin Chitin ( C8 H13 O5 N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is probably the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chit ...
ous
carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
. The lobster's head bears antennae, antennules,
mandibles In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...
, the first and second
maxillae The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...
. The head also bears the (usually stalked)
compound eye A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which disti ...
s. Because lobsters live in murky environments at the bottom of the ocean, they mostly use their antennae as sensors. The lobster eye has a reflective structure above a convex retina. In contrast, most complex eyes use refractive ray concentrators (lenses) and a concave retina. The lobster's thorax is composed of maxillipeds, appendages that function primarily as mouthparts, and pereiopods, appendages that serve for walking and for gathering food. The abdomen includes
pleopods The decapod ( crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in variou ...
(also known as ''swimmerets''), used for swimming, as well as the tail fan, composed of
uropod Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugge ...
s and the
telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...
. Lobsters, like snails and spiders, have blue blood due to the presence of
hemocyanin Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins and abbreviated Hc) are proteins that transport oxygen throughout the bodies of some invertebrate animals. These metalloproteins contain two copper atoms that reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O2) ...
, which contains
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
. In contrast, vertebrates, and many other animals have red blood from
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
-rich
hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...
. Lobsters possess a green
hepatopancreas The hepatopancreas, digestive gland or midgut gland is an organ of the digestive tract of arthropods and molluscs. It provides the functions which in mammals are provided separately by the liver and pancreas, including the production of digestive ...
, called the
tomalley Tomalley (from the Carib word ', meaning a sauce of lobster liver), crab fat, or lobster paste is the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of lobsters, that fulfills the functions of both the liver and the pancreas. Tomalley correspo ...
by chefs, which functions as the animal's
liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...
and
pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an end ...
. Lobsters of the family Nephropidae are similar in overall form to several other related groups. They differ from freshwater
crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...
in lacking the joint between the last two segments of the thorax, and they differ from the reef lobsters of the family
Enoplometopidae Reef lobsters, ''Enoplometopus'', are a genus of small lobsters that live on reefs in the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Description Species of ''Enoplometopus'' occur from coral reefs at depths of less than ...
in having full claws on the first three pairs of legs, rather than just one. The distinctions from fossil families such as the Chilenophoberidae are based on the pattern of grooves on the carapace. Analysis of the neural gene complement revealed extraordinary development of the chemosensory machinery, including a profound diversification of ligand-gated ion channels and secretory molecules.


Coloring

Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish-green or greenish-brown, to blend in with the ocean floor, but they can be found in many colors. Lobsters with atypical coloring are extremely rare, accounting for only a few of the millions caught every year, and due to their rarity, they usually are not eaten, instead being released back into the wild or donated to
aquariums An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, a ...
. Often, in cases of atypical coloring, there is a genetic factor, such as
albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...
or
hermaphroditism In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separ ...
. Special coloring does not appear to affect the lobster's taste once cooked; except for albinos, all lobsters possess astaxanthin, which is responsible for the bright red color lobsters turn after being cooked.


Longevity

Lobsters live up to an estimated 45 to 50 years in the wild, although determining age is difficult: it is typically estimated from size and other variables. Newer techniques may lead to more accurate age estimates. Research suggests that lobsters may not slow down, weaken or lose fertility with age and that older lobsters may be more fertile than younger. This longevity may be due to
telomerase Telomerase, also called terminal transferase, is a ribonucleoprotein that adds a species-dependent telomere repeat sequence to the 3' end of telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences at each end of the chromosomes of most euka ...
, an
enzyme Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecules known as products. A ...
that repairs long repetitive sections of
DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...
s at the ends of chromosomes, referred to as
telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...
s. Telomerase is expressed by most vertebrates during embryonic stages but is generally absent from adult stages of life. However, unlike most vertebrates, lobsters express telomerase as adults through most tissue, which has been suggested to be related to their longevity. Telomerase is especially present in 'Green Spotted' lobsters - whose markings are thought to be produced by the enzyme interacting with their shell pigmentation. Reprinted as Lobster longevity is limited by their size.
Moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...
requires metabolic energy, and the larger the lobster, the more energy is needed; 10 to 15% of lobsters die of exhaustion during moulting, while in older lobsters, moulting ceases and the exoskeleton degrades or collapses entirely, leading to death. Like many decapod crustaceans, lobsters grow throughout life and can add new muscle cells at each moult. Lobster longevity allows them to reach impressive sizes. According to ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', the largest lobster ever caught was in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Canada, weighing .


Ecology

Lobsters live in all oceans, on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms from the shoreline to beyond the edge of the
continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
. They generally live singly in crevices or in burrows under rocks. Lobsters are omnivores and typically eat live prey such as fish, mollusks, other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. They scavenge if necessary and are known to resort to
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
in captivity. However, when lobster skin is found in lobster stomachs, this is not necessarily evidence of cannibalism because lobsters eat their shed skin after moulting. While cannibalism was thought to be nonexistent among wild lobster populations, it was observed in 2012 by researchers studying wild lobsters in Maine. These first known instances of lobster cannibalism in the wild are theorized to be attributed to a local
population explosion Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...
among lobsters caused by the disappearance of many of the Maine lobsters' natural predators. In general, lobsters are long and move by slowly walking on the sea floor. However, they swim backward quickly when they flee by curling and uncurling their
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
s. A speed of has been recorded. This is known as the
caridoid escape reaction The caridoid escape reaction, also known as lobstering or tail-flipping, refers to an innate escape mechanism in marine and freshwater crustaceans such as lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), sy ...
. Symbiotic animals of the genus ''
Symbion ''Symbion'' is a genus of commensal aquatic animals, less than 0.5 mm wide, found living attached to the mouthparts of cold-water lobsters. They have sac-like bodies, and three distinctly different forms in different parts of their two-sta ...
'', the only known member of the phylum
Cycliophora ''Symbion'' is a genus of commensal aquatic animals, less than 0.5 mm wide, found living attached to the mouthparts of cold-water lobsters. They have sac-like bodies, and three distinctly different forms in different parts of their two-sta ...
, live exclusively on lobster
gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are ...
s and mouthparts. Different species of ''Symbion'' have been found on the three commercially important lobsters of the North Atlantic Ocean: ''
Nephrops norvegicus ''Nephrops norvegicus'', known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, ' (compare langostino) or ''scampi'', is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is n ...
'', ''
Homarus gammarus ''Homarus gammarus'', known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of lobster, clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, ''H.&nbs ...
'', and ''
Homarus americanus The American lobster (''Homarus americanus'') is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Cana ...
''.


As food

Lobster is commonly served boiled or steamed in the shell. Diners crack the shell with
lobster cracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...
s and fish out the meat with
lobster pick A lobster pick or lobster fork is a long, narrow food utensil used to extract meat from joints, legs, claws, and other small parts of a lobster. Lobster picks are usually made of stainless steel and weigh as much as an average teaspoon. They have ...
s. The meat is often eaten with melted butter and
lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
. Lobster is also used in soup, bisque,
lobster roll A lobster roll is a dish native to New England. It is made of lobster meat served on a grilled hot dog-style bun. The filling may also contain butter, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper, with variants made in some parts of New England replacin ...
s, ''
cappon magro ''Cappon magro'' (; lij, capon magro ), is an elaborate Genoese salad of seafood and vegetables over hardtack arranged into a decorative pyramid and dressed with a rich sauce. A similar but much less elaborate dish is called ''capponata'' in L ...
'', and dishes such as
lobster Newberg __NOTOC__ Lobster Newberg (also spelled Lobster Newburg or Lobster Newburgh) is an American seafood dish made from lobster, butter, cream, cognac, sherry, and eggs, with a secret ingredient found to be Cayenne pepper. A modern legend with no ...
and
lobster Thermidor Lobster Thermidor is a French dish of lobster meat cooked in a rich wine sauce, stuffed back into a lobster shell, and browned. The sauce is often a mixture of egg yolks and brandy (such as Cognac), served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typica ...
. Cooks boil or steam live lobsters. When a lobster is cooked, its shell's color changes from blue to orange because the heat from cooking breaks down a protein called
crustacyanin Crustacyanin is a carotenoprotein biological pigment found in the exoskeleton of lobsters and responsible for their blue colour. β-Crustacyanin (β-CR), is composed of two stacked astaxanthin carotenoids that absorb at λ = 580–590 nm (2. ...
, which suppresses the orange hue of the chemical
astaxanthin Astaxanthin is a keto- carotenoid within a group of chemical compounds known as terpenes. Astaxanthin is a metabolite of zeaxanthin and canthaxanthin, containing both hydroxyl and ketone functional groups. It is a lipid-soluble pigment with r ...
, which is also found in the shell. According to the United States
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA), the mean level of
mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...
in
American lobster The American lobster (''Homarus americanus'') is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, norther ...
between 2005 and 2007 was 0.107 ppm.


History

Humans have eaten lobster since the prehistoric period. Large piles of lobster shells near areas populated by fishing communities attest to the crustacean's extreme popularity during this period. Evidence indicates that lobster was being consumed as a regular food product in fishing communities along the shores of Britain, South Africa ~100,000 years ago, Australia, and Papua New Guinea ~35,000 years ago. Lobster became a significant source of nutrients among European coastal dwellers. Historians suggest lobster was an important secondary food source for most European coastal dwellers, and it was a primary food source for coastal communities in Britain during this time. Lobster became a popular mid-range delicacy during the mid to late Roman period. The price of lobster could vary widely due to various factors, but evidence indicates that lobster was regularly transported inland over long distances to meet popular demand. A mosaic found in the ruins of
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
suggests that the
spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, So ...
was of considerable interest to the Roman population during the early imperial period. Lobster was a popular food among the Moche people of Peru between 50 CE and 800 CE. Besides its use as food, lobster shells were also used to create a light pink dye, ornaments, and tools. A mass-produced lobster-shaped effigy vessel dated to this period attests to lobster's popularity at this time, though the purpose of this vessel has not been identified. The
Viking period The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
saw an increase in lobster and other shellfish consumption among northern Europeans. This can be attributed to the overall increase in marine activity due to the development of better boats and the increasing cultural investment in building ships and training sailors. The consumption of marine life went up overall in this period, and the consumption of lobster went up in accordance with this general trend. Unlike fish, however, lobster had to be cooked within two days of leaving salt water, limiting the availability of lobster to inland dwellers. Thus lobster, more than fish, became a food primarily available to the relatively well-off, at least among non-coastal dwellers. Lobster is first mentioned in cookbooks during the medieval period. '' Le Viandier de Taillevent,'' a French recipe collection written around 1300, suggests that lobster (also called saltwater crayfish) be “Cooked in wine and water, or in the oven; eaten in vinegar.” ''Le Viandier de Taillevent'' is considered to be one of the first “haut cuisine” cookbooks, advising on how to cook meals that would have been quite elaborate for the period and making usage of expensive and hard to obtain ingredients. Though the original edition, which includes the recipe for lobster, was published before the birth of French court cook
Guillaume Tirel Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent (French: "wind-cutter" i.e. an idle swaggerer) (born ca. 1310 in Pont-Audemer – 1395), was an important figure in the early history of French cuisine. He was cook to the Court of France at the time of the ...
, Tirel later expanded and republished this recipe collection, suggesting that the recipes included in both editions were popular among the highest circles of French nobility, including King Philip VI. The inclusion of a lobster recipe in this cookbook, especially one which does not make use of other more expensive ingredients, attests to the popularity of lobster among the wealthy. The French household guidebook
Le Ménagier de Paris ''Le Ménagier de Paris'' (; often abbreviated as ''Le Ménagier''; en, "The Parisian Household Book") is a French medieval guidebook from 1393 on a woman's proper behaviour in marriage and running a household. It includes sexual advice, recipes, ...
, published in 1393, includes no less than five recipes, including lobster, which vary in elaboration. A guidebook intended to provide advice for women running upper-class households, ''Le Ménagier de Paris'' is similar to its predecessor in that it indicates the popularity of lobster as a food among the upper classes. That lobster was first mentioned in cookbooks during the 1300s and only mentioned in two during this century should not be taken as an implication that lobster was not widely consumed before or during this time. Recipe collections were virtually non-existent before the 1300s, and only a handful exist from the medieval period. During the early 1400s, lobster was still a popular dish among the upper classes. During this time, influential households used the variety and variation of species served at feasts to display wealth and prestige. Lobster was commonly found among these spreads, indicating that it continued to be held in high esteem among the wealthy. In one notable instance, the
Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...
offered at least 42 kinds of crustaceans and fish at his feasts over nine months, including several varieties of lobster. However, lobster was not a food exclusively accessed by the wealthy. The general population living on the coasts made use of the various food sources provided by the ocean, and shellfish especially became a more popular source of nutrition. Among the general population, lobster was generally eaten boiled during the mid-15th century, but the influence of the cuisine of higher society can be seen in that it was now also regularly eaten cold with vinegar. The inland peasantry would still have generally been unfamiliar with lobster during this time. Lobster continued to be eaten as a delicacy and a general staple food among coastal communities until the late 17th century. During this time, the influence of the Church and the government regulating and sometimes banning meat consumption during certain periods continued to encourage the popularity of seafood, especially shellfish, as a
meat alternative A meat alternative or meat substitute (also called plant-based meat or fake meat, sometimes pejoratively) is a food product made from vegetarian or vegan ingredients, eaten as a replacement for meat. Meat alternatives typically approximate qua ...
among all classes. Throughout this period, lobster was eaten fresh,
pickled Pickling is the process of preserving or extending the shelf life of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The pickling procedure typically affects the food's texture and flavor. The resulting food is called ...
, and salted. From the late 17th century onward, developments in fishing, transportation, and cooking technology allowed lobster to more easily make its way inland, and the variety of dishes involving lobster and cooking techniques used with the ingredient expanded. However, these developments coincided with a decrease in the lobster population, and lobster increasingly became a delicacy food, valued among the rich as a status symbol and less likely to be found in the diet of the general population. The American lobster was not originally popular among European colonists in North America. This was partially due to the European inlander's association of lobster with barely edible salted seafood and partially due to a cultural opinion that seafood was a lesser alternative to meat that did not provide the taste or nutrients desired. It was also due to the extreme abundance of lobster at the time of the colonists' arrival, which contributed to a general perception of lobster as an undesirable peasant food. The American lobster did not achieve popularity until the mid-19th century when New Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it, and commercial lobster fisheries only flourished after the development of the lobster smack, a custom-made boat with open holding wells on the deck to keep the lobsters alive during transport. Before this time, lobster was considered a
poverty food A famine food or poverty food is any inexpensive or readily available food used to nourish people in times of hunger and starvation, whether caused by extreme poverty, such as during economic depression or war, or by natural disasters such as ...
or as a food for
indentured servant Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an " indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment ...
s or lower members of society in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, and the
Canadian Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
. Some servants specified in employment agreements that they would not eat lobster more than twice per week, however there is limited evidence for this. Lobster was also commonly served in prisons, much to the displeasure of inmates. American lobster was initially deemed worthy only of being used as
fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
or fish bait, and until well into the 20th century, it was not viewed as more than a low-priced canned staple food. As a crustacean, lobster remains a
taboo food Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
in the
dietary laws Some people do not eat various specific foods and beverages in conformity with various religious, cultural, legal or other societal prohibitions. Many of these prohibitions constitute taboos. Many food taboos and other prohibitions forbid the mea ...
of
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
and certain streams of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.


Grading

Caught lobsters are graded as new-shell, hard-shell, or old-shell. Because lobsters that have recently shed their shells are the most delicate, an inverse relationship exists between the price of American lobster and its flavor. New-shell lobsters have paper-thin shells and a worse meat-to-shell ratio, but the meat is very sweet. However, the lobsters are so delicate that even transport to Boston almost kills them, making the market for new-shell lobsters strictly local to the fishing towns where they are offloaded. Hard-shell lobsters with firm shells but less sweet meat can survive shipping to Boston, New York, and even Los Angeles, so they command a higher price than new-shell lobsters. Meanwhile, old-shell lobsters, which have not shed since the previous season and have a coarser flavor, can be air-shipped anywhere in the world and arrive alive, making them the most expensive.


Killing methods and animal welfare

Several methods are used for killing lobsters. The most common way of killing lobsters is by placing them live in boiling water, sometimes after being placed in a freezer for a period. Another method is to split the lobster or sever the body in half lengthwise. Lobsters may also be killed or immobilized immediately before boiling by a stab into the brain (
pithing Pithing is a technique used to immobilize or kill an animal by inserting a needle or metal rod into its brain. It is regarded as a humane means of immobilizing small animals being observed in experiments, and while once common in commercial slau ...
), in the belief that this will stop suffering. However, a lobster's brain operates from not one but several
ganglia A ganglion is a group of neuron cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system. In the somatic nervous system this includes dorsal root ganglia and trigeminal ganglia among a few others. In the autonomic nervous system there are both sympatheti ...
, and disabling only the frontal ganglion does not usually result in death. The boiling method is illegal in some places, such as in
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...
, Italy, where offenders face fines up to €495. Lobsters can be killed by
electrocution Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...
prior to cooking with a device called the
CrustaStun The CrustaStun is a device designed to administer a lethal electric shock to shellfish (such as lobsters, crabs, and crayfish) before cooking. This avoids boiling a live shellfish which may be able to experience pain in a way similar to vertebrate ...
. The
Swiss government The Federal Council (german: Bundesrat; french: Conseil fédéral; it, Consiglio federale; rm, Cussegl federal) is the executive body of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation and serves as the collective head of state and governme ...
banned boiling lobster live without stunning them first. Since March 2018, lobsters in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
need to be knocked out, or killed instantly, before they are prepared. They also receive other forms of protection while in transit.


Fishery and aquaculture

Lobsters are caught using baited one-way traps with a color-coded marker buoy to mark cages. Lobster is fished in water between , although some lobsters live at . Cages are of plastic-coated galvanized steel or wood. A lobster fisher may tend to as many as 2,000 traps. Around the year 2000, owing to overfishing and high demand, lobster
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
expanded. However, as of 2008, no lobster aquaculture operation had achieved commercial success, mainly because of lobsters' tendency towards cannibalism and the slow growth of the species.


Species

The
fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
of clawed lobsters extends back at least to the
Valanginian In the geologic timescale, the Valanginian is an age or stage of the Early or Lower Cretaceous. It spans between 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma and 132.9 ± 2.0 Ma (million years ago). The Valanginian Stage succeeds the Berriasian Stage of the Lower Cretaceou ...
age of the
Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...
(140 million years ago). This list contains all extant species in the family
Nephropidae Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...
: *''
Acanthacaris ''Acanthacaris'' is a genus of deep-water lobsters. It contains two species, ''A. caeca'' and ''A. tenuimana'', and is the only genus in the subfamily Neophoberinae. Description They are relatively large lobsters with a cylindrical b ...
'' :*'' Acanthacaris caeca'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1881 :*'' Acanthacaris tenuimana'' Bate, 1888 *''
Dinochelus ''Dinochelus ausubeli'' is a small deep sea lobster discovered in 2007 in the Philippines during the Census of Marine Life and described in 2010 in the new genus ''Dinochelus''. Its two claws are very different in size, are elongated, and bear ...
'' Ahyong, Chan & Bouchet, 2010 :*''
Dinochelus ausubeli ''Dinochelus ausubeli'' is a small deep sea lobster discovered in 2007 in the Philippines during the Census of Marine Life and described in 2010 in the new genus ''Dinochelus''. Its two claws are very different in size, are elongated, and bear m ...
'' Ahyong, Chan & Bouchet, 2010 *''
Eunephrops ''Eunephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, containing four species, all found in the Western Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's s ...
'' Smith, 1885 :*''
Eunephrops bairdii ''Eunephrops bairdii'' is a species of marine lobster, commonly called the "red lobster", endemic to the Caribbean Sea. It is found off the coasts of Colombia and Panama at depths of . It reaches a length of up to , which is equivalent to a carap ...
'' Smith, 1885 :*''
Eunephrops cadenasi ''Eunephrops cadenasi'', sometimes called the sculptured lobster, is a species of lobster found in the Caribbean. Description ''Eunephrops cadenasi'' is a medium-sized lobster with a cylindrical body. Adult male individuals of ''Eunephrops caden ...
'' Chace, 1939 :*''
Eunephrops luckhursti ''Eunephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, containing four species, all found in the Western Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surfa ...
'' Manning, 1997 :*''
Eunephrops manningi ''Eunephrops manningi'', the banded lobster, is a species of lobster found in the West Indies. It was named in 1974 by carcinologist Lipke Holthuis after his friend and fellow carcinologist Raymond B. Manning. Description It grows to a lengt ...
'' Holthuis, 1974 *''
Homarinus The Cape lobster, ''Homarinus capensis'', is a species of small lobster that lives off the coast of South Africa, from Dassen Island to Haga Haga. Only a few dozen specimens are known, mostly regurgitated by reef-dwelling fish. It lives in rocky ...
'' Kornfield, Williams & Steneck, 1995 :*'' Homarinus capensis'' (Herbst, 1792) – Cape lobster *''
Homarus ''Homarus'' is a genus of lobsters, which include the common and commercially significant species ''Homarus americanus'' (the American lobster) and ''Homarus gammarus'' (the European lobster). The Cape lobster, which was formerly in this genus ...
'' Weber, 1795 :*''
Homarus americanus The American lobster (''Homarus americanus'') is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Cana ...
'' H. Milne-Edwards, 1837 – American lobster :*''
Homarus gammarus ''Homarus gammarus'', known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of lobster, clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, ''H.&nbs ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – European lobster *'' Metanephrops'' Jenkins, 1972 :*''
Metanephrops andamanicus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters ...
'' (Wood-Mason, 1892) – Andaman lobster :*''
Metanephrops arafurensis ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters ...
'' (De Man, 1905) :*''
Metanephrops armatus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters ...
'' Chan & Yu, 1991 :*'' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Bruce, 1966) – Australian scampi :*''
Metanephrops binghami ''Metanephrops binghami'', the Caribbean lobster or Caribbean lobsterette, is a lobster which inhabits the western Atlantic region: from the Bahamas and southern Florida to French Guiana, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea T ...
'' (Boone, 1927) – Caribbean lobster :*''
Metanephrops boschmai ''Metanephrops boschmai'', known as the Bight lobster, Bight scampi or Boschma's scampi, is a species of lobster endemic to Western Australia. Distribution and habitat ''M. boschmai'' is found around the west coasts of Australia, from Port Hedl ...
'' (Holthuis, 1964) – Bight lobster :*''
Metanephrops challengeri ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (common name, commonly known as the New Zealand lobster or New Zealand scampi) is a species of slim, pink lobster that lives around the coast of New Zealand. It is typically long and weighs around . The carapace and ...
'' (Balss, 1914) – New Zealand scampi :*''
Metanephrops formosanus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters ...
'' Chan & Yu, 1987 :*''
Metanephrops japonicus ''Metanephrops japonicus'' is a species of lobster found in Japanese waters, and a gourmet food in Japanese cuisine. It occurs from Chōshi, Chiba Prefecture (Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan ...
'' (Tapparone-Canefri, 1873) – Japanese lobster :*'' Metanephrops mozambicus'' Macpherson, 1990 :*''
Metanephrops neptunus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (Bruce, 1965) :*''
Metanephrops rubellus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (Moreira, 1903) :*''
Metanephrops sagamiensis ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (Parisi, 1917) :*''
Metanephrops sibogae ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (De Man, 1916) :*''
Metanephrops sinensis ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters s ...
'' (Bruce, 1966) – China lobster :*''
Metanephrops taiwanicus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (Hu, 1983) :*''
Metanephrops thomsoni ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' (Bate, 1888) :*''
Metanephrops velutinus ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and ''Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters su ...
'' Chan & Yu, 1991 *'' Nephropides'' Manning, 1969 :*''
Nephropides caribaeus ''Nephropides caribaeus'' is a species of lobster, the only species in the genus ''Nephropides''. It is found in western parts of the Caribbean Sea, from Belize to Colombia. It grows to a total length of around , and is covered in conspicuous t ...
'' Manning, 1969 *'' Nephrops'' Leach, 1814 :*''
Nephrops norvegicus ''Nephrops norvegicus'', known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, ' (compare langostino) or ''scampi'', is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is n ...
'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, langoustine *''
Nephropsis ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *''Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *''Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *''Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Nephr ...
'' Wood-Mason, 1872 :*''
Nephropsis acanthura ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Ne ...
'' Macpherson, 1990 :*''
Nephropsis aculeata ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *''Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Nep ...
'' Smith, 1881 – Florida lobsterette :*''
Nephropsis agassizii ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *''Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *''Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Neph ...
'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 :*''
Nephropsis atlantica ''Nephropsis atlantica'', sometimes called the scarlet lobsterette or scarlet clawed lobster, is a species of lobster from the Atlantic Ocean. Description ''Nephropsis atlantica'' is relatively small for a lobster, growing to a maximum total len ...
'' Norman, 1882 :*''
Nephropsis carpenteri ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Wood-Mason, 1885 :*''
Nephropsis ensirostris ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *''Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *''Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *''Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Nephr ...
'' Alcock, 1901 :*''
Nephropsis holthuisii ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Macpherson, 1993 :*''
Nephropsis malhaensis ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Borradaile, 1910 :*''
Nephropsis neglecta ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Holthuis, 1974 :*''
Nephropsis occidentalis ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of le ...
'' Faxon, 1893 :*''
Nephropsis rosea ''Nephropsis rosea'', sometimes called the rosy lobsterette or two-toned lobsterette, is a species of lobster. Distribution and habitat It is found in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and as far north in the western Atlantic Ocean as Bermud ...
'' Bate, 1888 :*''
Nephropsis serrata ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Macpherson, 1993 :*''
Nephropsis stewarti ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *''Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *''Ne ...
'' Wood-Mason, 1872 :*''
Nephropsis suhmi ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Bate, 1888 :*''
Nephropsis sulcata ''Nephropsis'' is a genus of lobsters containing 15 extant species: *'' Nephropsis acanthura'' Macpherson, 1990 *'' Nephropsis aculeata'' Smith, 1881 *'' Nephropsis agassizii'' A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 *'' Nephropsis atlantica'' Norman, 1882 *'' ...
'' Macpherson, 1990 *''
Thaumastocheles The family Thaumastochelidae contains five known species of deep-sea lobsters, three in the genus ''Thaumastocheles'', and two in the genus ''Thaumastochelopsis''. The fifth species was discovered in the ten–year Census of Marine Life. These c ...
'' Wood-Mason, 1874 :*''
Thaumastocheles dochmiodon The family Thaumastochelidae contains five known species of deep-sea lobsters, three in the genus ''Thaumastocheles'', and two in the genus ''Thaumastochelopsis''. The fifth species was discovered in the ten–year Census of Marine Life. These c ...
'' Chan & Saint Laurent, 1999 :*'' Thaumastocheles japonicus'' Calman, 1913 :*'' Thaumastocheles zaleucus'' (Thomson, 1873) *'' Thaumastochelopsis'' Bruce, 1988 :*'' Thaumastochelopsis brucei'' Ahyong, Chu & Chan, 2007 :*''
Thaumastochelopsis wardi The family Thaumastochelidae contains five known species of deep-sea lobsters, three in the genus ''Thaumastocheles'', and two in the genus ''Thaumastochelopsis''. The fifth species was discovered in the ten–year Census of Marine Life. These cr ...
'' Bruce, 1988 *'' Thymopides'' Burukovsky & Averin, 1977 :*''
Thymopides grobovi ''Thymopides'' is a genus of deep-water lobsters, comprising the two species ''Thymopides grobovi'' and ''Thymopides laurentae''. Distribution Two species are included in the genus ''Thymopides''. *''Thymopides grobovi'' is found around Heard I ...
'' (Burukovsky & Averin, 1976) :*'' Thymopides laurentae'' Segonzac & Macpherson, 2003 *''
Thymops ''Thymops birsteini'', the Patagonian lobsterette, is a species of lobster found around the coasts of South America, particularly the South Atlantic. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Thymops''. Distribution ''T. birsteini'' is found on the co ...
'' Holthuis, 1974 :*''
Thymops birsteini ''Thymops birsteini'', the Patagonian lobsterette, is a species of lobster found around the coasts of South America, particularly the South Atlantic. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Thymops''. Distribution ''T. birsteini'' is found on the co ...
'' (Zarenkov & Semenov, 1972) *'' Thymopsis'' Holthuis, 1974 :*''
Thymopsis nilenta ''Thymopsis nilenta'' is a species of lobster and the only species in the genus ''Thymopsis''. It is found around the Falkland Islands and South Georgia at depths of . It reaches a total length of , of which the carapace A carapace is a Dors ...
'' Holthuis, 1974


See also

*
Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection ''Les Fil ...
, a French writer who kept a lobster as a pet *
Lobster War The Lobster War (also known as the Lobster Operation; pt, Guerra da Lagosta; french: Conflit de la langouste) was a dispute over spiny lobsters that occurred from 1961 to 1963 between Brazil and France. The Brazilian government refused to allow ...
, an early-1960s diplomatic conflict between
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
over spiny lobster fishing territories * Lobstering, an innate escape mechanism in marine and freshwater
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s


Notes


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Atlantic Veterinary College Lobster Science Centre
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1038113 Animal-based seafood Articles containing video clips Commercial crustaceans Edible crustaceans Negligibly senescent organisms Seafood Taxa named by James Dwight Dana True lobsters Extant Valanginian first appearances