Slipper lobsters are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

(Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate

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 gro ...

s, in the

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is es ...

clade Reptantia, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are more 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, S ...

s and furry lobsters. Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward from the head as wide plates. All the species of slipper lobsters are edible, and some, such as the Moreton Bay bug and the Balmain bug ('' Ibacus peronii'') are of commercial importance.

Description

Slipper lobsters have six segments in their heads and eight segments in 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 ...

, which are collectively covered in a thick

carapace A carapace is a 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 tortoises, the und ...

. The six segments of 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 tors ...

each bear a pair of pleopods, while the thoracic

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including ant ...

s are either walking legs or

maxilliped An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including ant ...

s. The head segments bear various

mouthparts Mouthparts may refer to: * The parts of a mouth ** Arthropod mouthparts *** Insect mouthparts {{disambig ...

and two pairs of antennae. The first antennae, or ''antennules'', are held on a long flexible stalk, and are used for sensing the environment. The second antennae are the slipper lobsters' most conspicuous feature, as they are expanded and flattened into large plates that extend horizontally forward from the animal's head. There is considerable variation in size among species of slipper lobsters. The

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

species ''

Scyllarus pygmaeus ''Scyllarus pygmaeus'' is a species of slipper lobster that lives in shallow water in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It grows to a length of , which is too small for it to be fished for. The juvenile form was first descri ...

'' is the smallest, growing to a maximum total length of , and rarely more than . The largest species, ''

Scyllarides haanii ''Scyllarides haanii'', the Aesop slipper lobster, is a marine decapod crustean in the family Scyllaridae. Other common names include the humpbacked slipper lobster and the ridgeback slipper lobster. Description ''Scyllarides haanii'' can grow ...

'', may reach long.

Ecology

Slipper lobsters are typically bottom dwellers of the continental shelves, found at depths of up to . Slipper lobsters eat a variety of

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

, including

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical gastropod shell, shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" ...

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, whic ...

s and

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not a ...

s, as well as

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are ...

s and

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the s ...

s. They grow slowly and live to a considerable age. They lack the giant neurones which allow other decapod crustaceans to perform tailflips, and must rely on other means to escape

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

attack, such as burial in a substrate and reliance on the heavily

armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...

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 ...

. The most significant

s of slipper lobsters are

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartila ...

, with the

grey triggerfish The grey triggerfish (''Balistes capriscus''), or gray triggerfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern A ...

being the most significant predator of '' Scyllarides latus'' in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

Life cycle

After hatching out of their eggs, young slipper lobsters pass through around ten

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow o ...

s as phyllosoma

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e — leaf-like,

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cr ...

ic zoeae. These ten or so stages last the greater part of a year, after which the larva moults into a "nisto" stage that lasts a few weeks. Almost nothing is known about the transition from this stage to the adults, which continue to grow through a series of moults.

Commercial importance

Although they are fished for wherever they are found, slipper lobsters have not been the subject of such intense fishery as

s or

true lobsters True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * Tr ...

. The methods used for catching slipper lobsters varies depending on the species' ecology. Those that prefer soft substrates, such as '' Thenus'' and '' Ibacus'', are often caught by

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...

, while those that prefer crevices, caves and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic processes—deposition (geology), deposition of ...

s (including '' Scyllarides'', '' Arctides'' and '' Parribacus'' species) are usually caught by

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

. The global catch of slipper lobsters was reported in 1991 to be . More recently, annual production has been around , the majority of which is production of '' Thenus orientalis'' in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Common names

A number of

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contra ...

s have been applied to the family Scyllaridae. The most common of these is "slipper lobster", followed by "shovel-nosed lobster" and "locust lobster". "Spanish lobster" is used for members of the genus '' Arctides'', "mitten lobster" for '' Parribacus'', and "fan lobster" for '' Evibacus'' and '' Ibacus''. In Australia, a number of species are called "bugs" (for example, the Balmain bug and Moreton Bay bug), especially those in the genus '' Ibacus''. Other names used in Australia include "bay lobster", "blind lobster", "flapjack", "flat lobster", "flying saucer", "gulf lobster", "mudbug", "sandbug", "shovel-nose bug", "shovelnose lobster", "crayfish", "slipper bug" and "squagga". Rarer terms include "flathead lobster" (for '' Thenus orientalis'') and "bulldozer lobster". In Greece they may be known as Kolochtypes which roughly translates as 'bum hitter'. Twenty-two genera are recognised, the majority of which were erected in 2002 by Lipke Holthuis for species formerly classified under ''

Scyllarus ''Scyllarus'' is a genus of slipper lobsters from the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Until 2002, the genus included far more species, but these are now placed in other genera. The following species remain in ''Scyl ...

'':

Genera

Slipper lobsters belong to the following genera. Scyllarinae Latreille, 1825 *'' Acantharctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Antarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Antipodarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Bathyarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Biarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Chelarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Crenarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Eduarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *''

Galearctus ''Galearctus'' is a genus of slipper lobsters, comprising the following species: *'' Galearctus aurora'' (Holthuis, 1982) *'' Galearctus avulsus'' Yang, Chen & Chan, 2011 *'' Galearctus kitanoviriosus'' (Harada, 1962) *'' Galearctus rapanus'' ( ...

'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Gibbularctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Petrarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Remiarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *''

Scammarctus ''Scammarctus'' is a genus of crustaceans belonging to the family Scyllaridae. The species of this genus are found in Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water ...

'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Scyllarella'' Rathbun, 1935 (extinct) *''

'' Fabricius, 1775 Arctidinae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Arctides'' Holthuis, 1960 *'' Scyllarides'' Gill, 1898 Ibacinae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Evibacus'' S. I. Smith, 1869 *'' Ibacus'' Leach, 1815 *'' Parribacus'' Dana, 1852 Theninae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Thenus'' Leach, 1815 ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...

'' *'' Palibacus'' Förster, 1984 (extinct)

Gallery

Gallery of various slipper lobsters species: Image:Arctides antipodum.jpg, ''

Arctides antipodum ''Arctides'' is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing three species. The largest of these, '' A. antipodarum'', has a carapace up to long, and is found off south-eastern Australia and parts of New Zealand. The other two species are smaller, ...

'' Image:Ibacus ciliatus - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07560.JPG, ''

Ibacus ciliatus ''Ibacus ciliatus'' is a species of slipper lobster from the north-west Pacific Ocean. Description and life cycle ''Ibacus ciliatus'' is a broad slipper lobster, with a carapace length of up to , and a total length up to . It is typically a uni ...

'' Image:Parribacus-antarcticus2-National-Zoo-2010.jpg, ''

Parribacus antarcticus ''Parribacus antarcticus'' is a species of slipper lobster. Its common names include "sculptured mitten lobster" and "sculptured slipper lobster" in English, and ' and ' in Hawaiian. Description ''Parribacus antarcticus'' can reach a length of ...

'' Image:Scyllarides latus.jpg, '' Scyllarides latus'' Image:Scyllarus arctus 2 by Line1.jpg, '' Scyllarus arctus'' Image:Cooked whole Moreton Bay Bug.JPG, '' Thenus orientalis'' (cooked)

Fossil record

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 ...

of slipper lobsters extends back 100–120 million years, which is considerably less than that of slipper lobsters' closest relatives, the

s. One significant earlier fossil is '' Cancrinos claviger'', which was described from Upper Jurassic sediments at least , and may represent either an ancestor of modern slipper lobsters, or the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to the family Scyllaridae ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1019149 Achelata Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances