Caribbean spiny lobster

Panulirus argus · The Caribbean spiny lobster is a spiny-shelled crustacean that lives on coral reefs and in mangrove swamps across the western Atlantic Ocean.

Also called Florida spiny lobster.

Caribbean spiny lobster
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
Caribbean spiny lobster
Photo: Adam, CC BY 2.0
Caribbean spiny lobster
Photo: Douglas Whitaker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumArthropoda
ClassMalacostraca
OrderDecapoda
FamilyPalinuridae
GenusPanulirus
SpeciesPanulirus argus

Where it lives

Reefs and seagrass beds from North Carolina through the West Indies to Brazil.

Fun facts

  • It can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) long, though most Caribbean spiny lobsters are only around 20 cm (7.9 in).
  • Its antennae are longer than its whole body and are covered in forward-pointing spines.
  • Right after molting, its new shell is soft, leaving it highly vulnerable until the exoskeleton hardens.
  • It mostly eats mollusks and chitons, but will also scavenge worms, sea urchins, and even dead fish.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).