California spiny lobster

California spiny lobster
A red, clawless lobster facing towards the viewer, with long, stout antennae pointed forwards, and short horns above the short-stalked eyes.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Palinuridae
Genus: Panulirus
Species:
P. interruptus
Binomial name
Panulirus interruptus
Main range is from Southern California to the southern tip of Baja California; peripheral range extends slightly further north to Central California, and includes the Gulf of California, and the western coast of Mexico south to the Gulf of Tehuantepec.
Range of Panulirus interruptus: main areas in red; peripheral areas in darker red
Synonyms [3]

Palinurus interruptus J. W. Randall, 1840

The California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California, to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of 30 cm (12 in) and is a reddish-brown color with stripes along the legs, and has a pair of enlarged antennae but no claws. The interrupted grooves across the tail are characteristic for the species.

Females can carry up to 680,000 eggs, which hatch after 10 weeks into flat phyllosoma larvae. These feed on plankton before the metamorphosis into the juvenile state. Adults are nocturnal and migratory, living among rocks at depths of up to 65 m (213 ft), and feeding on sea urchins, clams, mussels and worms. The spiny lobster is eaten by various fish, octopuses and sea otters, but can defend itself with a loud noise produced by its antennae. The California spiny lobster is the subject of both commercial and recreational fishery in both Mexico and the United States, with sport fishermen using hoop nets and commercial fishermen using lobster traps.

  1. ^ Butler, M.; MacDiarmid, A.; Cockcroft, A. (2011). "Panulirus interruptus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T169966A6694575. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T169966A6694575.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Panulirus interruptus (J. W. Randall, 1840)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference MLW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).