European lobster
Homarus gammarus
- Scientific name
- Homarus gammarus
- Group
- Crustaceans
- Rarity
- Rare
- Where to see it
- Temperate Atlantic / English Channel, Mediterranean
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least concern
Did you know?
The European lobster owes its deep blue color to a special pigment that breaks down when cooked, turning the shell orange-red. It can regrow a lost claw over the course of successive molts.
What defines this group — Crustaceans
Armoured arthropods: crabs, shrimp and lobsters, all built around an external shell.
- The skeleton is on the outside; growing means shedding it — the moult.
- Jointed legs in pairs, often reshaped into claws or antennae.
- The larvae drift with the plankton in open water before settling on the bottom.
Other species in this group
- Common hermit crab
- Green shore crab
- Caribbean spiny lobster
- Skunk cleaner shrimp
- Spinous spider crab
- Common prawn