Spiny Lobster
Panulirus interruptus
Physical Description
- Ten-legged crustacean with no prominent front claws
- Long antennae twice the length of its body
- Sharp, shiny projections along upper shell and sides of tail
- Red to orange coloration on shell
- Very strong jaws that deliver powerful bite
- Males are larger than females
Range
- Monterey Bay, California to Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico
- Highest abundance off central Baja California
Habitat
- Lower rocky intertidal zones
- Up to depths of 230 feet
- Often found with large kelp and surf grass
- Often concealed during the day, many lobsters in a single rocky crevice; they feed right after sunset
Reproduction
- Males reach sexual maturity at 3-6 years old, and females at 5-9 years old
- Mating in deep water from December-March, usually during upwelling conditions
- Males deposit sperm onto female, who then lays brood of eggs
- Females produce several broods of larvae, 50,000-800,000 each, in lifetime
- Female holds onto eggs beneath their abdomens, protected by pleopods (hard flap right before tail)
Diet
- Omnivorous scavengers
- Scavenge dead animals, detritus, and algae
- They eat mussels, urchins, coralline algae, fish, and echinoderms
Predators
- Octopuses, California sheephead, cabezon, kelp bass, California moray eels, horn sharks, leopard sharks, giant sea bass, and multiple types of rockfish
- Humans also fish for them
Interesting Facts
- To scare off competitors and predators, the Pacific spiny lobster will move their antennae in a large sweeping motion and make an alarming grating noise by rubbing their antennae against a file-like eyespot.
- To escape from predators, spiny lobsters swim backwards with a flip of the tail. If caught by a predator, they will also self-autotomize, or purposely lose a limb or antennae, to escape!
- They can crawl in every direction.
- Spiny lobsters can regenerate a lost leg or antennae during each molt.
Sources: California Sea Grant; AnimalDiversity.org
Photo: Nate Baker