The Secret Life of Lobsters

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A lobster from the water came,
And saw another, just the same
In form and size, but gaily clad
In scarlet clothing, while she had
No other raiment to her back,
Than her old suit of greenish black.
Miss Gould

Spiny lobsters belong to a group or ‘genus’ named Panulirus by scientists, after a mythical seaman who fell off his boat, was killed by a band of ferocious Italians, and his spirit forced to wander the shallows forever. They are slightly different to the lobsters we find in the seas around the UK or on plates at your local restaurant; they lack the big grasping front claws, instead their legs end in fine points and the bodies are covered in beautiful patterns of purple and orange. This interesting beastie, patrols the cracks and crevices of shallow tropical (warm water) and temperate (cool water) reefs, before heading out into deeper areas as they grow older, in order to breed.

Just like humans change from babies to children to adults, so the lobster transforms from egg to larvae to small lobster to large lobster. Each female can lay 100s of thousands of eggs at a time, each of which is carefully carried around in a sticky mass under the belly of the mother like a bunch of tiny grapes or berries; hence females with eggs are described as ‘berried’. The eggs hatch and form larvae which float around in open ocean, taking on over 10 different forms, until at long last it starts to look like an adult lobster but in miniature form. At this stage the lobster moves inshore and settles to the bottom. But change doesn’t end here; imagine as you grew older and older, bigger and bigger, your skin couldn’t stretch, instead you had to shed your skin and grow a new layer each time your body got larger. Sounds a bit disgusting! But because the surface of the lobster is protected by a hard outer shell or exoskeleton, as the lobster grows it has to do just that; shed the outer casing, in a process known as moulting. The body can then grow a bit larger before a new exoskeleton forms.

Lobsters are also rather talented performers, but instead of using this skill to entertain or communicate with each other, they make music to deter predators. When under threat, the lobster moves their antennae across the surface of their heads like a musician drawing a bow across the strings of a violin producing a dull buzzing sound. This sound surprises the predator, giving the lobster a chance to hide deep in a nearby crevice. If this scary music fails to work, the lobster may shed a leg to distract its attacker, just like the nudibranch sheds body parts to escape its predators.

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Photos

A lurking lobster
Caribbean spiny Lobster

Lobster eyes are protected by horns
Western Australian Spiny Lobster

Tail fan
Western Australian Spiny Lobster

The long antennae that lobster use to make music!
Caribbean Spiny Lobster

Comments

[Linda Markey]

Captivating!
Kirsty; I must confess, I anxiously await your beautiful descriptive articles!! You have a unique talent for capturing the unnoticed beauty of the oceans diverse creatures. I especially like the poetry at the beginning.... Thanks, I look forward to your next journal! Mrs. M