Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/388/-1/11/
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Scientific name: Panulirus argus
One of Anguilla’s favorite dining treats is the Spiny lobster caught right off the shores of the island by local fishermen. Snorkelers and scuba divers may chance upon a lobster or a group of lobsters hiding amongst the coral rocks of shoreline reefs.
Lobsters are very shy and will scoot away at the first chance they get or pull back into the darkness of their hole. Don’t make the mistake of grabbing the lobster. Unlike northern lobsters the Spiny Lobster has no large claws; instead they grow very long spiked antennae and can cause considerable damage in their efforts to escape.
Like all crustaceans they live inside a hard shell or exoskeleton. This spiny shell offers the lobster great protection against predators. They also hide in caves or coral rock crevices by day ventures out at night in search of food among the coral reefs and grass beds.
Description:
Covered with a hard shell with sharp spines and long spiked antennae. They must shed their exoskeleton to grow in a process called molting. They molt several times a year as juveniles and then once a year as an adult. The adult can grow more than two feet long. The carapace is calcareous and tough, reinforced to protect the internal organs of the head and thorax and the gills at the bases of the legs. The antennae are obvious, the compound eyes are on mobile stalks, there are six pairs of small limbs around the mouth, and five pairs of walking legs. The abdomen is strong and muscular, with a strong segmented exoskeleton on the back. It has the swimmerets underneath and ends in a tail fan.
Lobsters are active predators on worms, snails and mussels. The lobster does not chew its food orally, instead it swallows its meal whole and allows its stomach do to the chewing.
They are preyed upon by octopuses, large fishes and of course people. Spiny lobsters may live to be about 25 to 50 years old.
