15 facts about lobsters
- Lobsters (Nephropidae) are ocean-living shellfish which look like large crayfish.
- Lobster's industry nets more than US$1 billion annually.
- A lobster has ten jointed legs, the first pair bearing great, clamp-like claws.
- They are invertebrate arthropods, with a strong protective exoskeleton.
- Most lobsters are dark green, becoming red only when cooked.
- They are appreciated for their flavor and texture.
- Besides their two long antennae, they have a pair of eyes set on short stalks. Their jointed abdomens are tipped by a set of bladed tail plates used in swimming.
- Lobsters, like snails and spiders, have blue blood due to the presence of haemocyanin, which contains copper.
- Lobsters live in the coastal waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- Full-grown lobsters are nearly two feet (60 cm) in length and weigh 25 pounds (11 kg).
- A mature female may lay thousands of eggs at a time. They are carried on her abdominal gill organs until early the following spring. Then the hatching larvae come free and float on the ocean while feeding on plankton. When the larvae are one inch long, they descend to the ocean bottom and start life as young adult lobsters.
- Older lobsters are more fertile than younger lobsters.
- Like all arthropods, lobsters must shed their hard exoskeletons periodically in order to grow.
- Lobster's right and left claws may be of unequal size.
- According to the Guinness World Records, the largest lobster was captured
in Nova Scotia, Canada, and weighed 44.4 lb.
