Slipper lobsters are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s, in the

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods, from Ancient Greek δεκάς (''dekás''), meaning "ten", and πούς (''poús''), meaning "foot", is a large order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, and includes crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, a ...

clade

Reptantia Reptantia is a clade of decapod crustaceans named in 1880 which includes lobsters, crabs and many other well-known crustaceans. Classification In older classifications, Reptantia was one of the two suborders of Decapoda alongside Natantia, w ...

, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters 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 (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of 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 di ...

, 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 unde ...

. The six segments of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

each bear a pair of

pleopod The anatomy of a decapod consists of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment – often called a somite – may possess one pair of appendages, although in various groups these m ...

s, while the thoracic

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part or natural prolongation that protrudes from an organism's body such as an arm or a leg. Protrusions from single-celled bacteria and archaea are known as cell-surface appendages or surface app ...

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 such as an arm or a leg. Protrusions from single-celled bacteria and archaea are known as cell-surface appendages or surface app ...

s. The head segments bear various mouthparts 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

species '' Scyllarus pygmaeus'' is the smallest, growing to a maximum total length of , and rarely more than . The largest species, '' Scyllarides haanii'', may reach long.

Ecology

Slipper lobsters are typically bottom dwellers of the

continental shelves 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 ...

, found at depths of up to . Slipper lobsters eat a variety of

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

, including

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails with a conical gastropod shell, shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. This general category of conical shell is known as "patelliform" (dish-shaped). Existing within the class Gastropoda, ...

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

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 no ...

s, as well as

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

s and

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any animal of the phylum Echinodermata (), which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers, as well as the sessile sea lilies or "stone lilies". While bilaterally symmetrical as ...

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 in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

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

armoured Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat ...

exoskeleton An exoskeleton () . is a skeleton that is on the exterior of an animal in the form of hardened integument, which both supports the body's shape and protects the internal organs, in contrast to an internal endoskeleton (e.g. human skeleton, that ...

. The most significant

s of slipper lobsters are

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

, with the grey triggerfish 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

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, which occurs between each moult (''ecdysis'') until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to ...

s as phyllosoma

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e — leaf-like,

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

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 spiny lobsters 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 * ...

. 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 an industrial 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 di ...

, 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 (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

s (including '' Scyllarides'', '' Arctides'' and '' Parribacus'' species) are usually caught by scuba divers. 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 the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

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 con ...

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 Lipke Bijdeley Holthuis (21 April 1921 – 7 March 2008) was a Dutch carcinologist, considered one of the "undisputed greats" of carcinology, and "the greatest carcinologist of our time". Holthuis was born in Probolinggo, East Java and obtained ...

for species formerly classified under '' Scyllarus'': Pariibacus japonicus

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'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Gibbularctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Petrarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Remiarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Scammarctus'' Holthuis, 2002 *'' Scyllarella'' Rathbun, 1935 (extinct) *'' Scyllarus'' Fabricius, 1775 Arctidinae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Arctides'' Holthuis, 1960 *'' Scyllarides'' Gill, 1898 Ibacinae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Evibacus'' S. I. Smith, 1869 *'' Ibacus'' Leach, 1815 *'' Palibacus'' Förster, 1984 (extinct) *'' Parribacus'' Dana, 1852 Theninae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Thenus'' Leach, 1815

Gallery

Gallery of various slipper lobsters species: Image:Arctides antipodum.jpg, '' Arctides antipodum'' Image:Ibacus ciliatus - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07560.JPG, '' Ibacus ciliatus'' Image:Parribacus-antarcticus2-National-Zoo-2010.jpg, '' Parribacus antarcticus'' 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 spiny lobsters. One significant earlier fossil is '' Cancrinos claviger'', which was described from

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

sediments at least , and may represent either an

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

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

* * {{Authority control Achelata Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances