The scientific name for lobster is Nephropedae. They are usually found in cracks or tunnels on the sea floor.
Their bodies are usually long with muscular tails. Of the first five pairs of legs Lobsters possess, four have claws, and they (Lobsters) are of great economic importance to human society.
Though most other groups of Crustaceans bear the name “lobster,” the unqualified term “lobster” often relates to Lobsters with claws belonging to the Nephropidae family.
Clawed Lobsters do not have a close relationship with spiny Lobsters that are clawless.
The three families of freshwater crayfish and reef lobsters are the closest living relatives of the clawed lobsters.
Scientific Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Subphylum: Crustacea
- Class: Malacostraca
- Order: Decapoda
- Superfamily: Nephropoidea
- Family: Nephropidae Dana
Description
Lobsters are spineless sea creatures with a hard, protective exoskeleton.
Lobsters, like most arthropods, also undergo ecdysis (periodic shedding of the cuticle in arthropods), leaving them vulnerable.
However, most species usually undergo color change during ecdysis.
The walking legs of Lobsters are usually eight (8) in number, with the three pairs at the front having claws.
The pincers at the front are considered biologically as legs. As such, this makes them be grouped under Decapods, which means, “ten-footed”.
Even though these Lobsters are bilaterally symmetrically, like other arthropods, most genera have specialized, unequal claws.
Lobsters have two major parts of the body, namely, the abdomen and cephalothorax.
The cephalothorax merges the head and the thorax, each covered by a chitinous carapace.
The Lobster’s antennules, the first and second maxilla, antennae, and the antennae are all found in its head.
Also, the Lobster’s head has compound eyes, which are usually stalked.
Since Lobsters live in a turbid environment on the sea floor, they use their antennae as sensors.
Above the convex retina of the lobster eye is a reflective structure that contrasts with that of several complex eyes that use refractive lenses and a concave retina.
The Lobster’s pectus or thorax comprises maxillipeds (appendages that operate mainly as mouthparts) and pereiopods (appendages used as a medium or tool for gathering food and walking).
The abdomen consists of pleopods or swimmerets, which also comprise Uropods and telson.
Like spiders and snails, lobsters also have blood blue due to hemocyanin, which is responsible for the color and contains copper.
Coloring
A typical lobster is usually colored in a mixture of brown and green or blue and green to blend with the ocean floor.
Lobsters with strange or unique coloring are not common, and because of this rarity, they are not usually good for food; instead, they are used in aquariums to add beauty to the home.
Notably, the special coloring of lobsters does not affect the usual taste when used as food.
However, all Lobsters, except “albino Lobsters,” contain astaxanthin, which is responsible for the bright red coloring we see after being cooked for consumption.
Longevity
An estimate shows that Lobsters can live up to 45 or 50 years in the wild, though age determination of Lobsters is quite difficult.
It was reported in 2012 that decapod crustaceans’ death rate can be determined by using gastric mill in crabs, lobsters, and shrimps or growth bands in calcified regions of the eyestalk.
A Lobster’s age can also be estimated by size without using the previous technique.
This newly discovered knowledge can help scientists understand the population and better assist regulators of the lucrative industry.
As analysis shows, age does not affect fertility, weaken, or slow down Lobsters.
It has been shown analytically that older Lobsters are more productive than younger Lobsters.
The Longevity of Lobsters results from the presence of an enzyme called telomerase, which is responsible for repairing long repetitive parts of the DNA sequences at the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres. The longevity of Lobsters is hindered by size.
Lobsters can add fresh muscle cells at each ecdysis due to continuous growth, which gives them room to grow continuously in size.
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest lobster in history weighed 20.15kg, caught in Canada.
Ecology
There is no ocean where you will not find lobsters in muddy, Rocky, and sandy bottoms beginning from the shore of the ocean to the continental shelf of the ocean. They are commonly found in crannies of rocks.
They are omnivorous creatures and feed on fish, other crustaceans, and plant life. They also feed on their shed skin after undergoing ecdysis.
Lobsters are generally 10-20 inches in length, and they are usually slow in movement.
They usually swim in the backward direction by curling and uncurling their abdomens. This is usually seen when they want to flee from danger, and this reaction is called the Caridoid escape reaction.
As Food
Lobsters can be cooked, boiled, or steamed live and served as food.
When cooked, the color changes to orange due to the breakdown of a protein called crustacyanin, which subdues the orange color of the astaxanthin, which is also present in the Lobster’s shell.
The meat from the cooked lobster can be eaten with butter and lemon juice.
It is also succulent in soup, lobster rolls, and delicacies like lobster thermidor.
Lobsters can be killed using various methods; the common way of killing them is by boiling them live in water, most times after freezing them for some time.
Another method that is not common is by severing it into two halves lengthwise.
Other methods of killing Lobsters are listed below;
- The removal of tissue, flesh, or limbs while the crustacean is alive and fully conscious.
- Separating the abdomen from the thorax
- Placing marine crustaceans in freshwater
- Unfocused microwaving of the body as opposed to focal application to the head
