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Home / Lobsters

Lobsters

Lobsters – Ocean Floor Walkers

Lobsters are sea animals, that belong to a group called Nephropidae (also known as Homaridae). Most lobsters are found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Lobster category

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Where Lobsters Live

Lobsters live on the ocean floor, in rocky spaces and burrows. They are most active at night when they come out to look for food. Lobsters eat clams, snails, crabs, and sometimes smaller lobsters if food is hard to find.

Their strong, hard shell (called an exoskeleton) protects their body, and they have five pairs of legs. Three of these legs have claws, which they use for hunting and eating. One claw is bigger and used for crushing, while the smaller claw is better for pinching.

What Makes Lobsters Unique

Lobsters can move both forward and backward. When they feel threatened, they curl and uncurl their tails quickly, which helps in escape backward at high speed. Even though they can swim, lobsters prefer to walk along the ocean floor.

In the wild, lobsters come in different colors like green, yellow, and even blue. When cooked, they turn red because of a pigment called astaxanthin.

How Lobsters Reproduce

Lobster reproduction is unique. Female lobsters can keep sperm from males for months before fertilizing their eggs. After fertilization, a female lobster carries thousands of eggs under her body using tiny limbs called swimmerets. The eggs stay there until they hatch. Once the baby lobsters hatch, they swim freely for about 12 days before settling on the ocean floor.

Lobsters can live very long lives. Some lobsters have been known to live for over 100 years! However, it is hard for scientists to determine the exact age of a lobster because there is no reliable way to measure it.

Lobster Growth

Lobsters grow by shedding their old shells in a process called molting. They shed their exoskeleton and grow a new one. When a lobster molts, it absorbs water to expand its size before forming a new shell.

Young lobsters molt many times in their first few years. As they get older, this process happens less often. Lobsters with soft shells, which have recently molted, are considered tastier than those with hard shells.

Lobsters as Food

Lobsters have not always been seen as fancy food. In the past, they were so common that they were used to feed prisoners and farm animals. Today, lobster is a delicacy enjoyed by people all over the world.

Lobster meat is high in protein and contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your health. Without butter or heavy sauces, lobster meat is low in calories and fat.

There are two main types of lobsters people eat:
1. American lobsters (Homarus americanus), have large claws and are found on the East Coast of North America.

2. Spiny lobsters which do not have claws and are found in warmer waters.

A gray lobster with two eyes and two antennae.
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Clain Blythe

Clain Blythe

Hi, I'm Clain Blythe, a marine biologist who loves studying ocean life. I got my Bachelorโ€™s and Masterโ€™s degrees from Florida Tech in marine biology & had the chance to work at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience.

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