Spiny lobsters, also called langustas, langoustes, or rock lobsters, are sea creatures with ten legs that live in the ocean. They are part of the Palinuridae family. In some places like Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the Bahamas, spiny lobsters are also called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish ("kreef" in South Africa). These names are different from the terms used for freshwater crayfish in other areas.

Classification

Spiny lobsters are part of the group Reptantia, just like true lobsters. Furry lobsters, such as those in the group Palinurellus, were once placed in their own family called Synaxidae. However, they are now usually grouped with spiny lobsters in the family Palinuridae. Slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are closely related to spiny lobsters, and these families belong to a larger group called Achelata. Some genera of spiny lobsters include Palinurus and similar names like Panulirus and Linuparus. The name "Palinurus" comes from the ancient Italian port of Palinuro, where people harvested the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) during Roman times. The town of Palinuro was named after Palinurus, a boat captain in the story Æneid by the Roman poet Virgil.

There are 12 living genera of spiny lobsters, which include about 60 species.

Description

Spiny lobsters and true lobsters look similar in shape and both have hard shells. However, they are not closely related. Spiny lobsters can be told apart from true lobsters by their long, thick, spiny antennae. They also lack claws on the first four pairs of walking legs, though some female spiny lobsters have a small claw on the fifth pair. Spiny lobsters have a unique larval stage called phyllosoma. True lobsters have shorter antennae and claws on the first three pairs of legs, with the first pair being especially large.

Spiny lobsters usually have a carapace that is slightly flattened and does not have ridges on the sides. Their antennae do not have a part called a scaphocerite, which is a flat section of the antenna. Instead, this part is joined to a plate called the epistome, which is located between the labrum and the base of the antenna. The top part of the antenna, called the flagellum, is thick, tapers to a point, and is very long. The walking legs of spiny lobsters end in claws.

Size

Adults can be as small as a few centimeters or as large as 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches). Some individuals may grow as large as 60 centimeters (24 inches), such as Panulirus argus.

However, some reports claim much larger sizes, though their accuracy is uncertain. One source is Bernard Gorsky's travel book La dernière île. In this book, the author includes the following accounts:

• A 1956 article from the New Caledonian newspaper La France Australe described a stuffed porcelain spiny lobster displayed in a shop. It measured 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches), including its antennae, and weighed 11 kilograms (24.3 pounds).
• An Australian publication reported that people on a small island in the Coral Sea caught a porcelain spiny lobster measuring 2 meters 10 centimeters and weighing 17 kilograms (37.5 pounds).
• Gorsky himself caught lobsters weighing 6 to 7 kilograms (13 to 15 pounds) with local people on Mouli Island, as noted in La France Australe. Locals also claimed that even larger crabs live in the area. A man from the Leikigne tribe near Mouli Island shared a story about a fishing trip. He said he followed a friend who had drowned into the water and saw two legs sticking out of a hollow. Inside the hollow was a large crayfish eating the fisherman. The crayfish was described as thick as the trunk of a mature palm tree. At the time, the Leikigne people believed the story because they thought a shark or drowning could not explain the event. If true, the story likely happened around 1957, as one of Gorsky’s narrators was 12 years old at the time (1965).

A study examined how feeding frequency affects the growth and survival of spiny lobsters. It found that feeding lobsters 16 times daily increased their growth and food intake the most. However, feeding them more than 16 times daily reduced their food intake and growth. The study also noted that feed dissolving quickly suggests that frequent feeding improves growth and food consumption.

Fossil record

The fossil record of spiny lobsters was expanded when scientists found a 110-million-year-old fossil near El Espiñal in Chiapas, Mexico, in 1995. Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico named the fossil Palinurus palaecosi and say it is most similar to species of the genus Palinurus that live today along the coasts of Africa.

Ecology

Spiny lobsters live in nearly all warm seas, such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea. They are especially common in Australasia, where they are often called crayfish or sea crayfish (Jasus edwardsii), and in South Africa (Jasus lalandii).

Spiny lobsters usually stay inside rock crevices and coral reef hiding places. At night, they sometimes leave their homes to hunt for food, such as snails, clams, sea-hares, crabs, or sea urchins. They may travel in large groups, forming long lines across the ocean floor that can include more than 50 lobsters. These lobsters use the smell and taste of water chemicals to find their way. Scientists recently learned that spiny lobsters can also use Earth's magnetic field to navigate. They stay together by touching each other with their long antennae. When threatened, they may make a loud screeching sound by rubbing their antennae against a smooth part of their hard outer shell. Spiny lobsters often stay close to each other, but recent studies show that healthy lobsters may move away from sick ones, leaving the infected lobsters alone.

Like true lobsters, spiny lobsters are eaten by people and are an important food source. For example, they are the most valuable food export from the Bahamas.

Many spiny lobsters make rasping sounds to scare away predators. They do this by rubbing a part of their antennae called the "plectrum" against a rough surface called a "file." The sound is created by the movement of the plectrum and file, which stick and slip together like rubber sliding over hard surfaces. While some insects use similar methods to make sounds, this specific way of creating noise is unique to spiny lobsters. Unlike many other animals, spiny lobsters do not rely on a hard outer shell to make these sounds, which allows them to produce warning noises even after they shed their old shell, a time when they are most vulnerable. The special sound-making part, called a stridulating organ, is found in all but three groups within their family (Jasus, Projasus, and Palinurellus). The shape of this organ can help scientists identify different species.

As food

Spiny lobsters, also called rock lobsters, have a sweeter, milder flavor and softer texture than true lobsters, such as the American lobster ("Maine Lobster") and European lobster. The tail meat of spiny lobsters is often described as sweet—sometimes similar to scallops—with a smooth, low-fat texture and little saltiness. This makes it well-suited for raw dishes like sashimi or steaming in a Chinese style. In contrast, Maine lobsters have a richer, more intense flavor that clearly tastes like lobster. They have more natural fat, a firmer, slightly stringy texture, and large claws that contain sweet, buttery meat. Spiny lobsters do not have claws. Cooking traditions reflect these differences: Maine lobster meat is often served with butter-based sauces (such as thermidor or New England lobster rolls), while spiny lobster is frequently cooked with little seasoning or in Asian styles that emphasize its natural sweetness (such as ginger stir-fry, sashimi, or in broth).