American Lobster
Homarus americanus
European lobster
Homarus gammarus
About
The European lobster is a heavily armoured seabed hunter known for its lopsided pair of claws, one built for crushing and one for cutting. It can grow to 65 cm and 6 kg, though most lobsters seen are closer to 40 cm.
- Length
- 40 cm · max 65 cm
- Weight
- max 6 kg
- Depth
- up to 150 m
How to tell it apart
It is easily mistaken for its close relative, the American lobster, but the European lobster's blue shell with a yellow underside separates the two.
Appearance
Its shell is blue on top, often with spots that run together, and yellow underneath; the familiar red colour only appears after it is cooked. The first pair of legs carries two very different claws, a larger rounded one for crushing prey and a slimmer, sharp-edged one for cutting and holding it, usually with the crusher on the left.
Habitat
It lives on the seabed, sheltering in holes and crevices, at depths down to 150 m, though it is usually found no deeper than about 50 m. Its range covers the northeastern Atlantic from Norway to Morocco, and most of the Mediterranean Sea.
Behaviour
It is nocturnal and territorial, staying in its burrow or crevice by day. It scavenges and hunts a wide range of prey, including crustaceans, molluscs, and worms, and will also eat carrion and plant matter. Females carry their eggs attached under the tail for many months before they hatch at night.
Did you know?
Once lobster eggs hatch, the drifting larvae face such long odds that only a tiny fraction ever survive long enough to settle on the seabed and start life as juveniles.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
