American Lobster

Fascinating facts about the American Lobster

• A 64-cm (25-in) lobster can tip the scales at over 20 kg (44 lb), making it the heaviest crustacean on Earth. Guinness records note a 20.1 kg (44.4 lb) specimen caught off Nova Scotia, while a recent 18-lb individual rescued for the New York Aquarium is estimated to be 75 years old, and the 44-lb record holder may have been more than 180 years young. Such massive size shows how long these animals can live and grow, underscoring their ecological longevity.
• Lobsters grow by shedding their shell up to 27 times before they reach market size, and each molt can boost weight by 40-50 % and carapace length by 14 %. After one year they measure 25-38 mm, and by six years they may weigh about 0.45 kg (1 lb). Early molts add 10-15 % size each, while later molts become far less frequent. This extraordinary growth strategy lets a tiny larva under one-tenth of a gram become a 10-kg adult.
• The lobster's front antennae are about 51 mm (2 in) long and end in Y-shaped tips packed with hair tufts that house multiple nerve cells for smelling. These hairs funnel water-borne odor molecules to inner sensory hairs, letting the animal pinpoint a scent's direction much like humans locate a sound.
• Females only mate within 48 hours after shedding their shell, storing sperm for up to 15 months before using it to fertilize eggs that cling to their swimmerets for 10-11 months. Egg production scales with size: an 18-cm lobster lays about 3,000 eggs, while a 45-cm individual can release roughly 75,000.
• Only about 10 % of lobsters that encounter a trap actually enter, and of those, roughly 6 % are retained, meaning most escape and even defend the trap as a food source. Size limits (minimum 3.25 in, maximum 5 in in Maine) and escape holes protect juveniles and breeding females, while "V-notching" marked egg-carrying females for two molts ensures they are released back to sea.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the American Lobster

In the dark, mysterious depths of the North Atlantic, the American Lobster emerges as a formidable, ancient creature, its armored shell a testament to its enduring presence in these waters. With deliberate, sideways movements, it navigates the rocky substrate, its antennae twitching as it senses the subtlest vibrations in the current, a master of its domain. As it disappears into the shadows, its remarkable, primitive beauty lingers, a poignant reminder of the vulnerability that now threatens its very existence.

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