View source for Lobster

{{For|animals called lobsters that are not true lobsters|Crayfish}}
{{Short description|Family of large marine crustaceans}}
{{About|clawed lobsters}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Homaridae|Homeridae}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Lobster
| fossil_range = {{fossil range|Valanginian|Recent}}
| image = KreeftbijDenOsse.jpg
| image_caption = European lobster<br />(''[[Homarus gammarus]]'')
| taxon = Nephropidae
| authority = [[James Dwight Dana|Dana]], 1852
| synonyms = 
* '''Homaridae'''
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="Poor16">{{Cite journal |last1=Poore |first1=Gary C. B. |date=2016 |title=The Names of the Higher Taxa of Crustacea Decapoda |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=248–255 |url=https://academic.oup.com/jcb/article/36/2/248/2547978 |access-date=2022-03-23 }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision_ref = <ref name="Grave">{{cite journal|author1=Sammy De Grave |author2=N. Dean Pentcheff |author3=Shane T. Ahyong |year=2009 |title=A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans |journal=[[Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]] |volume=Suppl. 21 |pages=1–109 |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s21/s21rbz1-109.pdf |display-authors=etal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606064728/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s21/s21rbz1-109.pdf |archive-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref>
| subdivision = {{collapsible list| 
* ''[[Acanthacaris]]'' <small>Bate, 1888</small>
* ''[[Dinochelus]]'' <small>Ahyong, Chan & Bouchet, 2010</small>
* ''[[Eunephrops]]'' <small>Smith, 1885</small>
* ''[[Cape lobster|Homarinus]]'' <small>Kornfield, Williams & Steneck, 1995</small>
* ''[[Homarus]]'' <small>Weber, 1795</small>
* ''[[Hoploparia]]'' † <small>M'Coy, 1849</small>
* ''[[Jagtia]]'' † <small>Tshudy & Sorhannus, 2000</small>
* ''[[Metanephrops]]'' <small>Jenkins, 1972</small>
* ''[[Nephropides]]'' <small>Manning, 1969</small>
* ''[[Nephrops]]'' <small>Leach, 1814</small>
* ''[[Nephropsis]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1873</small>
* ''[[Oncopareia]]'' † <small>Bosquet, 1854</small>
* ''[[Palaeonephrops]]'' † <small>Mertin, 1941</small>
* ''[[Paraclythia]]'' † <small>Fritsch & Kafka, 1887</small>
* ''[[Pseudohomarus]]'' † <small>van Hoepen, 1962</small>
* ''[[Thaumastocheles]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1874</small>
* ''[[Thaumastochelopsis]]'' <small>Bruce, 1988</small>
* ''[[Thymopides]]'' <small>Burukovsky & Averin, 1977</small>
* ''[[Thymops]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
* ''[[Thymopsis nilenta|Thymopsis]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
}}
}}
[[File:Lobsters awaiting purchase, Trenton, ME IMG 2477.JPG|thumb|Lobsters awaiting purchase in [[Trenton, Maine]]]]

'''Lobsters''' are [[Malacostraca|malacostracan]] [[Decapoda|decapod]] [[crustaceans]] of the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Nephropidae'''<ref name="Grave"/> or its [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]] '''Homaridae'''.<ref name="Poor16"/> They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as [[seafood]], lobsters are economically important and are often one of the most profitable commodities in the coastal areas they populate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.geog.mcgill.ca/climatechange/ReportsMap/lobsterRpt.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706185356/http://www.geog.mcgill.ca/climatechange/ReportsMap/lobsterRpt.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-06 |url-status=live |title=''Homarus americanus'', American lobster |date=June 27, 2007 |publisher=[[McGill University]]}}</ref>

Commercially important species include two species of ''[[Homarus]]'' from the northern Atlantic Ocean and [[Scampi (disambiguation)|scampi]] (which look more like a [[shrimp]], or a "mini lobster")—the Northern Hemisphere genus ''[[Nephrops]]'' and the Southern Hemisphere genus ''[[Metanephrops]]''.

== Distinction ==
Although several other groups of crustaceans have the word "lobster" in their names, the unqualified term "lobster" generally refers to the clawed lobsters of the family Nephropidae.<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas |last=Scott |year=1996 |title=ABC Biologie |publisher=[[Walter de Gruyter]] |isbn=978-3-11-010661-9 |chapter=Lobster |page=[https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope00scot/page/703 703] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LorrYj5pkKYC&pg=PA703 |url=https://archive.org/details/conciseencyclope00scot/page/703 }}</ref> Clawed lobsters are not closely related to [[langusta]]s ([[spiny lobster|spiny]]s and [[slipper lobster]]s), which have no claws ([[Chela (organ)|chelae]]), or to [[squat lobster]]s. The most similar living relatives of clawed lobsters are the [[reef lobster]]s and the three families of freshwater [[crayfish]].

== Description ==
[[File:Bugre europeu.jpg|thumb|European lobster with cut antennae]]

=== Body ===
{{See also|Decapod anatomy}}
Lobsters are [[invertebrate]]s with a hard protective [[exoskeleton]].<ref name="Quarmby">{{cite journal |author1=R. Quarmby |author2=D.A. Nordens |author3=P.F. Zagalsky |author4=H.J. Ceccaldi |author5=D. Daumas |title=Studies on the quaternary structure of the lobster exoskeleton carotenoprotein, crustacyanin|journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry|date=1977|volume=56|issue=1|pages=55–61|doi=10.1016/0305-0491(77)90222-X |pmid=830471 }}</ref> Like most [[arthropod]]s, lobsters must [[ecdysis|shed]] to grow, which leaves them vulnerable. During the shedding process, several species change color. Lobsters have eight walking legs; the front three pairs bear claws, the first of which are larger than the others. The front pincers are also biologically considered legs, so they belong in the order Decapods ("ten-footed").<ref>{{cite book |editor1=Mark W. Denny |editor2=Steven Dean Gaines |year=2007 |title=Encyclopedia of tidepools and rocky shores |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |isbn=978-0-520-25118-2 |first=Carlos |last=Robles |chapter=Lobsters |pages=333–335 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uufQnE7MzMkC&pg=PA333 |access-date=July 27, 2013}}</ref> Although lobsters are largely [[bilateral symmetry|bilaterally symmetrical]] like most other arthropods, some [[Genus|genera]] possess unequal, specialized claws.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Lobster anatomy includes two main body parts: the [[cephalothorax]] and the [[Abdomen#Arthropoda|abdomen]]. The cephalothorax fuses the head and the [[Thorax (arthropod anatomy)|thorax]], both of which are covered by a [[chitin]]ous [[carapace]]. The lobster's head bears [[Antenna (biology)|antennae]], antennules, [[Mandible (arthropod)|mandibles]], the first and second [[Maxilla (arthropod)|maxillae]]. The head also bears the (usually stalked) [[compound eye]]s. Because lobsters live in murky environments at the bottom of the ocean, they mostly use their antennae as sensors. The lobster eye has a reflective structure above a convex retina. In contrast, most complex eyes use refractive ray concentrators (lenses) and a concave retina.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Land MF |year=1976|title=Superposition images are formed by reflection in the eyes of some oceanic decapod Crustacea|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=263|issue=5580|pages=764–765|bibcode=1976Natur.263..764L|doi=10.1038/263764a0|pmid=995187 |s2cid=4215770| issn=0028-0836}}</ref> The lobster's thorax is composed of [[Decapod anatomy|maxillipeds]], appendages that function primarily as mouthparts, and [[Decapod anatomy|pereiopods]], appendages that serve for walking and for gathering food. The abdomen includes [[pleopods]] (also known as ''swimmerets''), used for swimming, as well as the tail fan, composed of [[uropod]]s and the [[telson]].

Lobsters, like snails and spiders, have blue blood due to the presence of [[hemocyanin]], which contains [[copper]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/cda/11-14/biology/copch31pg1.html |title=Copper for life – Vital copper |publisher=[[Association for Science Education]] |access-date=November 20, 2008 |archive-date=August 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812175031/http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/cda/11-14/biology/copch31pg1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In contrast, vertebrates, and many other animals have red blood from [[iron]]-rich [[hemoglobin]]. Lobsters possess a green [[hepatopancreas]], called the [[tomalley]] by chefs, which functions as the animal's [[liver]] and [[pancreas]].<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1039/b314101b |title=Arsenic speciation in marine certified reference materials |year=2004 |author1=Shona Mcsheehy |author2=Zoltán Mester |name-list-style=amp |journal=[[Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry]] |volume=19 |pages=373–380 |issue=3}}</ref>

Lobsters of the family Nephropidae are similar in overall form to several other related groups. They differ from freshwater [[crayfish]] in lacking the joint between the last two segments of the thorax,<ref name="Tshudy">{{cite journal |first=Dale |last=Tshudy |name-list-style=amp |author2=Loren E. Babcock |author2-link=Loren E. Babcock |year=1997 |title=Morphology-based phylogenetic analysis of the clawed lobsters (family Nephropidae and the new family Chilenophoberidae) |journal=[[Journal of Crustacean Biology]] |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=253–263 |jstor=1549275 |bibcode=1997JCBio..17..253T }}</ref> and they differ from the reef lobsters of the family [[Enoplometopidae]] in having full claws on the first three pairs of legs, rather than just one.<ref name="Tshudy" /> The distinctions from fossil families such as the [[Chilenophoberidae]] are based on the pattern of grooves on the carapace.<ref name="Tshudy" />

Analysis of the neural gene complement revealed extraordinary development of the chemosensory machinery, including a profound diversification of ligand-gated ion channels and secretory molecules.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Polinski |first1=Jennifer |title=The American lobster genome reveals insights on longevity, neural, and immune adaptations |journal=Science Advances |date=23 June 2021 |volume=7 |issue=26 |article-number=eabe8290 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abe8290 |pmid=34162536 |pmc=8221624 |bibcode=2021SciA....7.8290P }}</ref>

=== Coloring ===
Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish-green or greenish-brown, to blend in with the ocean floor, but they can be found in many colors.<ref name="USA Today 2015-07-15">{{Cite web|last=Eversley|first=Melanie|date=2015-07-15|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/07/split-colored-lobster-maine/29830371/|title=Extremely rare split-colored lobster caught off Maine|website=USA Today|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2018/08/29/rare-ghost-lobster-caught-off-stonington/|title=Rare ghost lobster caught off Stonington|last=Linehanstaff|first=Josh|date=2018-08-29|website=Press Herald|access-date=2019-03-10}}</ref> Lobsters with atypical coloring are extremely rare, accounting for only a few of the millions caught every year, and due to their rarity, they usually are not eaten, instead being released back into the wild or donated to [[public aquarium|aquariums]]. Often, in cases of atypical coloring, there is a genetic factor, such as [[albinism]] or [[Hermaphrodite|hermaphroditism]]. Special coloring does not appear to affect the lobster's taste once cooked; except for albinos, all lobsters possess astaxanthin, which is responsible for the bright red color lobsters turn after being cooked.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/31483/why-do-crabs-and-lobsters-turn-red-when-you-cook-them|title=Why Do Crabs and Lobsters Turn Red When You Cook Them?|last=Soniak|first=Matt|date=2012-08-29|website=mentalfloss.com|access-date=2019-03-25}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Chart of Atypical Coloring in Lobsters
! width=100px | Color
!Prevalence
!Notes
!Notable specimens
|-
|[[Albinism|albino]]
|1 in 100,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/06/white-lobsters-caught/15224451/|title=2 of rarest of all lobsters caught 5 days apart|website=USA Today|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|Also called white; translucent; ghost; crystal.<ref name="Boston.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/news/animals/2017/09/13/the-rarest-lobster-colors-explained|title=Orange, yellow, blue, and even 'Halloween': The rarest lobster colors, explained|last=DeCosta-Klipa|first=Nik|date=2017-09-13|work=Boston.com|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/rare-white-translucent-lobster-caught-maine-fisherman/story?id=49563899|title=Rare white 'translucent' lobster caught by Maine fisherman|date=2017-09-01|website=ABC News|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisisinsider.com/maine-fisherman-mike-billings-caught-albino-ghost-lobster-2018-8|title=A Maine fisherman caught a rare 'ghost' lobster that's nearly see-through|last=Collman|first=Ashley|date=2018-08-29|website=INSIDER|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|
|-
|"cotton candy"
|1 in 100,000,000<ref name="Farber">{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/maine-chef-finds-rare-cotton-candy-colored-lobster-in-tank|title=Maine chef finds rare cotton candy-colored lobster in tank|last=Farber|first=Madeline|date=2018-08-08|website=Fox News|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|Also called pastel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/cotton-candy-blue-lobster-rare-animals/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203112646/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/cotton-candy-blue-lobster-rare-animals/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 3, 2019|title=Why This Rare Lobster Is Colored Like Blue Cotton Candy|last=Wei-Haas|first=Maya|date=2018-06-19|website=National Geographic News|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref> Possibly a sub-type of albino.<ref name="Farber"/>
|Haddie (2021, [[Maine]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rare 'cotton candy' Lobster found in Maine |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/11/09/cotton-candy-colored-lobster-maine |access-date=2023-01-07 |website=www.boston.com |last=McCarthy |first=Mia |date=November 9, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
|blue
|1 in 1,000,000<ref name="NYT_2005-03-15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/science/yes-its-a-lobster-and-yes-its-blue.html|title=Yes, It's a Lobster, and Yes, It's Blue|last=Chang|first=Kenneth|date=2005-03-15|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-03-11|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> to 1 in 2,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|last=Blunda|first=John|date=2014-08-23|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/23/blue-lobster-caught/14506607/|title=1-in-2M find: 14-year-old, dad nab blue lobster|website=USA Today|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref><ref name="TheHill" /><ref name="Cape Cod Times" />
|Caused by a genetic defect.<ref name="NYT_2005-03-15" />
|Lord Stanley (2019, Massachusetts)<ref name="TheHill">{{cite news | last=Campisi | first=Jessica | title=One in 2 million blue lobster found in Massachusetts seafood restaurant | website=The Hill | date=2019-06-14 | url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/448635-one-in-two-million-blue-lobster-found-in-massachusetts-seafood | access-date=2019-07-07}}</ref><ref name="Cape Cod Times">{{cite news | url = https://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20190612/rare-blue-lobster-found-at-arnolds-in-eastham | title = Rare blue lobster found at Arnold's in Eastham | first=Edward |last=Sutelan | date=June 13, 2019 | access-date = July 6, 2019 | work=[[Cape Cod Times]]}}</ref>(2019, St. Louis)<ref>{{cite web | title=It's official: St. Louis Aquarium rare blue lobster has a name! | date=2019-07-02 | url=https://kplr11.com/2019/07/02/its-official-st-louis-aquarium-rare-blue-lobster-has-a-name/ | access-date=2019-07-07 | first=Aprylete | last=Russell | publisher=[[KPLR-TV]] | archive-date=July 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190707033213/https://kplr11.com/2019/07/02/its-official-st-louis-aquarium-rare-blue-lobster-has-a-name/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Lucky Blue (2022, [[Maine]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/meet-lucky-blue-one-2-213153294.html|title=Meet 'Lucky Blue': 1-in-2-million bright blue lobster caught by father and son in Maine|last=Alund|first=Natalie Neysa|date=2022-08-17|website=yahoo.com|access-date=2022-08-17}}</ref>
|-
|calico
|1 in 30,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-calico-lobster-20190112-story.html|title=Rare 'calico lobster' found at Maryland seafood counter|last=Anderson|first=Jessica|date=2019-01-12|website=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=2019-03-11|archive-date=February 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203073735/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-calico-lobster-20190112-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
|Eve (2019, [[Maryland]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wtkr.com/2019/01/14/rare-calico-lobster-turns-up-at-maryland-fish-market/|title=Rare calico lobster turns up at Maryland fish market|date=2019-01-15|website=WTKR.com|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|-
|orange
|1 in 30,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressherald.com/2018/06/07/flashy-orange-lobster-is-a-1-in-30-million-rarity/|title=Flashy orange lobster is a 1-in-30-million rarity|agency=Associated Press|date=2018-06-07|website=Press Herald|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|
|Cheddar (2022, [[Florida]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/red-lobster-rescues-rare-orange-lobster-144014250.html|title=1-in-30 million rare lobster spared from steamer after Red Lobster employees discover her in shipment|last=Maida|first=Josie|date=2022-07-13|website=yahoo.com|access-date=2022-07-13}}</ref> Biscuit (2022, [[Mississippi]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/another-rare-orange-lobster-named-biscuit-rescued-from-red-lobster-145052346.html|title=Cheddar, meet Biscuit. Rescue of second 1-in-30-million rare lobster from Red Lobster is raising questions about species 'abnormality.'|last=Maida|first=Josie|date=2022-08-09|website=yahoo.com|access-date=2022-08-09}}</ref> Jean-Clawed Van Damme (2025, [[New York (state)|New York]])<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oladipo |first=Gloria |date=2025-09-26 |title=Rare orange lobster found in New York supermarket returned to sea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/orange-lobster-new-york-supermarket |access-date=2025-09-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
|-
|split-colored
|1 in 50,000,000<ref name=":0" />
|Almost all split-coloreds are [[Hermaphrodism|hermaphroditic]].<ref name="Boston.com"/>
|
|-
|"Halloween"
|1 in 50,000,000<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.azula.com/split-colored-lobsters-2538315054.html|title=More Than 1 in 50 Million Lobsters Are Split-Colored Lobsters|date=2018-02-23|website=Azula - For the Love of Oceans|access-date=2019-03-11}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> to 1 in 100,000,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/rare-yellow-lobster-genetics-colors-pigments|title=A Rare Yellow Lobster Joins a Boston Aquarium's Lobster Rainbow|last=Kennedy|first=Kelsey|date=2017-09-01|website=Atlas Obscura|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|Sub-type of split-colored, specifically orange and black.<ref name="natgeo">{{cite web|url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2012/11/01/halloween-lobster-sports-orange-and-black/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610174417/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2012/11/01/halloween-lobster-sports-orange-and-black/|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 10, 2020|title=Halloween Lobster Sports Orange and Black|date=2012-11-01|publisher=[[National Geographic Society]]|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|Pinchy (2012, [[Massachusetts]])<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/10/31/lobster-all-dressed-up-for-halloween-in-orange-and-black|title=Lobster all dressed up for Halloween in orange and black|date=2012-10-31|last=Mattero|first=Sarah N.|work=Boston.com|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|-
|red
|1 in 10,000,000<ref name="natgeo" /> to 1 in 30,000,000<ref name="USA Today 2015-07-15" />
|
|
|-
|yellow
|1 in 30,000,000<ref>{{Citation|last=Charns|first=David|title=One in 30 million: Super rare yellow lobster found off Maine coast|date=2018-06-21|url=https://www.wmtw.com/article/one-in-30-million-super-rare-yellow-lobster-found-off-maine-coast/21746153|access-date=2019-03-11}}</ref>
|
|
|}

== Longevity ==
Lobsters live up to an estimated 45 to 50 years in the wild, although determining age is difficult:<ref>{{cite journal |first=T. |last=Wolff |journal=[[Crustaceana]] |volume=34 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1163/156854078X00510 |year=1978 |title=Maximum size of lobsters (''Homarus'') (Decapoda, Nephropidae)|issue=1 |bibcode=1978Crust..34....1W }}</ref> it is typically estimated from size and other variables. Newer techniques may lead to more accurate age estimates.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Canfield|first1=Clarke|title=Lobster age shown by counting its rings like a tree, study reveals|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/lobster-age_n_2215990.html|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=December 22, 2014|date=November 30, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114012/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/lobster-age_n_2215990.html|archive-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kilada|first1=Raouf|author2=Bernard Sainte-Marie|author3=Rémy Rochette|author4=Neill Davis|author5=Caroline Vanier|author6=Steven Campana|title=Direct determination of age in shrimps, crabs, and lobsters|journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|year=2012|volume=69|issue=11|pages=1728–1733|publisher=NRC Research Press, a division of Canadian Science Publishing|doi=10.1139/cjfas-2012-0254|bibcode=2012CJFAS..69.1728K }}</ref><ref name="Fairfield-et-al-2021">{{cite journal | first1=E.|last1=Fairfield | first2=D.S.|last2=Richardson |first3=C.L.|last3=Daniels |first4=C.L.|last4=Butler |first5=E|last5=Bell |first6=M.I.|last6=Taylor|journal=Evolutionary Applications | volume = 14|pages=  2305–2318| year=2021| doi=10.1111/eva.13296| issn=1752-4571| title=Ageing European lobsters (''Homarus gammarus'') using DNA methylation of evolutionarily conserved ribosomal DNA |issue=9 |pmid=34603500 |pmc=8477595 |bibcode=2021EvApp..14.2305F }}</ref>

Research suggests that lobsters may not slow down, weaken, or lose fertility with age and that older lobsters may be more fertile than younger lobsters.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hestand |first=Zac |date=2016-11-01 |title=The Lobster, A Dystopian Sci-Fi Love Story |journal=Film Criticism |volume=40 |issue=3 |doi=10.3998/fc.13761232.0040.325 |issn=2471-4364|doi-access=free |hdl=2027/spo.13761232.0040.325 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> This longevity may be due to [[telomerase]], an [[enzyme]] that repairs long repetitive sections of [[DNA sequence]]s at the ends of chromosomes, referred to as [[telomere]]s. Telomerase is expressed by most vertebrates during embryonic stages but is generally absent from adult stages of life.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cong YS, Wright WE, Shay JW | title = Human Telomerase and Its Regulation | journal = Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews | volume = 66 | issue = 3 | pages = 407–425 |date = 2002-09-01 | doi = 10.1128/MMBR.66.3.407-425.2002 | pmid=12208997 | pmc=120798 | issn=1092-2172}}</ref> However, unlike most vertebrates, lobsters express telomerase as adults through most tissue, which has been suggested to be related to their longevity.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Telomerase is especially present in green spotted lobsters, whose markings are thought to be produced by the enzyme interacting with their shell pigmentation.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wolfram Klapper |author2=Karen Kühne |author3=Kumud K. Singh |author4=Klaus Heidorn |author5=Reza Parwaresch |author6=Guido Krupp |year=1998 |title=Longevity of lobsters is linked to ubiquitous telomerase expression |journal=[[FEBS Letters]] |volume=439 |issue=1–2 |pages=143–146 |doi=10.1016/S0014-5793(98)01357-X |pmid=9849895|s2cid=33161779 |doi-access=free |bibcode=1998FEBSL.439..143K }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/400-pound-lobster.htm/printable |title=Is there a 400-pound lobster out there? |first=Jacob |last=Silverman |publisher=[[howstuffworks]]|date=2007-07-05 }}</ref><ref name="Consider">{{cite magazine |last=Wallace |first=David Foster |author-link=David Foster Wallace |date=August 2004 |title=Consider the Lobster |url=http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Gourmet (magazine)|Gourmet]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917213912/http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2004/08/consider_the_lobster |archive-date=September 17, 2008 |access-date=January 11, 2018}} Reprinted as {{cite book|title=Consider the Lobster and Other Essays|first=David Foster|last=Wallace|publisher=[[Little, Brown & Company]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0-316-15611-0|chapter=Consider the Lobster|author-link=David Foster Wallace|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/considerlobster00davi}}</ref> Lobster longevity is limited by their size. [[Moulting]] requires metabolic energy, and the larger the lobster, the more energy is needed; 10 to 15% of lobsters die of exhaustion during moulting, while in older lobsters, moulting ceases and the exoskeleton degrades or collapses entirely, leading to death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/dont-listen-to-the-buzz-lobsters-arent-actually-immortal-88450872/?no-ist|title=Don't Listen to the Buzz: Lobsters Aren't Actually Immortal|date=June 3, 2013|last=Koren|first=Marina|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lobsters.org/tlcbio/biology3.html|title=biotemp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211101926/http://www.lobsters.org/tlcbio/biology3.html|archive-date=2015-02-11}}</ref>

Like many decapod crustaceans, lobsters grow throughout life and can add new muscle cells at each moult.<ref>{{cite book |author=C. K. Govind |year=1995 |chapter=Muscles and their innervation |title=Biology of the Lobster ''Homarus americanus'' |editor=Jan Robert Factor |pages=291–312 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |location=San Diego, CA |isbn=978-0-12-247570-2}}</ref> Lobster longevity allows them to reach impressive sizes. According to ''[[Guinness World Records]]'', the largest lobster ever caught was in [[Nova Scotia]], Canada, weighing {{convert|20.15|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Guinness">{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=51451 |publisher=[[Guinness World Records]] |title=Heaviest marine crustacean |access-date=August 3, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528192250/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=51451 |archive-date=May 28, 2006}}</ref>

== Ecology ==
Lobsters live in all oceans, on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms from the shoreline to beyond the edge of the [[continental shelf]], contingent largely on size and age.<ref name=noaa/> Smaller, younger lobsters are typically found in crevices or in burrows under rocks and do not typically migrate. Larger, older lobsters are more likely to be found in deeper seas, migrating back to shallow waters seasonally.<ref name=noaa>{{Cite web|url= https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/outreach-and-education/fun-facts-about-luscious-lobsters|title=Fun Facts About Luscious Lobsters|website=www.fisheries.noaa.gov|access-date=2023-10-27}}</ref>

Lobsters are omnivores and typically eat live prey such as fish, mollusks, other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. They scavenge if necessary and are known to resort to [[Cannibalism (zoology)|cannibalism]] in captivity. However, when lobster skin is found in lobster stomachs, this is not necessarily evidence of cannibalism because lobsters eat their shed skin after moulting.<ref name="marinebio">{{cite web |url=http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=533 |title=''Homarus americanus'', Atlantic lobster |access-date=December 27, 2006 |publisher=MarineBio.org |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20140303231857/http://www.marinebio.org/species.asp?id=533 |archive-date=March 3, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While cannibalism was thought to be nonexistent among wild lobster populations, it was observed in 2012 by researchers studying wild lobsters in Maine. These first known instances of lobster cannibalism in the wild are theorized to be attributed to a local [[population explosion]] among lobsters caused by the disappearance of many of the Maine lobsters' natural predators.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lobster-idUSBRE8B21CH20121203 |title=Cruel new fact of crustacean life: lobster cannibalism |first=Jason |last=McLure |publisher=[[Reuters]] |date=December 3, 2012 |access-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205073727/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/03/us-usa-lobster-idUSBRE8B21CH20121203 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In general, lobsters are {{convert|25|-|50|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long and move by slowly walking on the sea floor. However, they swim backward quickly when they flee by curling and uncurling their [[abdomen]]s. A speed of {{convert|5|m/s|mph|abbr=on}} has been recorded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osl.gc.ca/homard/en/faq.html |title=The American lobster – frequently asked questions |publisher=St. Lawrence Observatory, [[Fisheries and Oceans Canada]] |date=October 19, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310113207/http://www.osl.gc.ca/homard/en/faq.html |archive-date=March 10, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This is known as the [[caridoid escape reaction]].

Symbiotic animals of the genus ''[[Symbion]]'', the only known member of the phylum [[Cycliophora]], live exclusively on lobster [[gill]]s and mouthparts.<ref name="Obst">{{cite journal | vauthors = Obst M, Funch P, Giribet G | date = 2005-10-17 |title=Hidden diversity and host specificity in cycliophorans: a phylogeographic analysis along the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea |journal=[[Molecular Ecology (journal)|Molecular Ecology]] |pmid=16313603 |volume=14 |issue=14 |pages=4427–4440 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02752.x | bibcode = 2005MolEc..14.4427O | s2cid = 26920982 | issn=0962-1083}}</ref> Different species of ''Symbion'' have been found on the three commercially important lobsters of the North Atlantic Ocean: ''[[Nephrops norvegicus]]'', ''[[Homarus gammarus]]'', and ''[[Homarus americanus]]''.<ref name="Obst" />

== As food ==

{{redirect|Lobster claw|the species of flowering plants|Lobster-claw}}

Lobster is commonly served boiled or steamed in the shell. Diners crack the shell with [[lobster cracker]]s and fish out the meat with [[lobster pick]]s. The meat is often eaten with [[melted butter]] and [[lemon juice]]. Lobster is also used in soup, [[bisque (food)|bisque]], [[lobster roll]]s, ''[[cappon magro]]'', and dishes such as [[lobster Newberg]] and [[lobster Thermidor]].

Cooks primarily boil or steam live lobsters. When a lobster is cooked, its shell's color changes from brown to orange because the heat from cooking breaks down a protein called [[crustacyanin]], which suppresses the orange hue of the chemical [[astaxanthin]], which is also found in the shell.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.howitworksdaily.com/|title=Latest issue|website=How It Works}}</ref>

According to the United States [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA), the mean level of [[mercury (element)|mercury]] in [[American lobster]] between 2005 and 2007 was 0.107{{nbsp}}[[parts per million|ppm]].<ref name=mercury>{{cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/mercury-levels-commercial-fish-and-shellfish-1990-2012 |title=Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012) |publisher=[[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) |access-date=November 20, 2015}}</ref> (The FDA has set a maximum permissible level of
methylmercury in seafood to 1 ppm.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/mercury/?pdf=5989#:~:text=The%20EPA%20has%20established%20a,of%20seafood%20(1%20ppm |title=Archived copy |access-date=July 19, 2025 |archive-date=February 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212132348/https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/epidemiology/epidemiology-fact-sheets/mercury/?pdf=5989#:~:text=The%20EPA%20has%20established%20a,of%20seafood%20(1%20ppm |url-status=dead }}</ref>)

<gallery mode=packed heights=160>
File:Lobster in Boston.jpg|Boiled lobster ready for eating
File:Lobster claw, knuckle, and tail meat.jpg|Lobster meat
File:Lobster in Stokkseyri.jpg|Lobster served in [[Stokkseyri]], Iceland
File:Kentish crab rolls.jpg|alt=Lobster rolls in Kent, England|Lobster rolls in [[Kent]], England
</gallery>

=== History ===

[[File:Lobster, Crab, and a Cucumber - 1891P32.jpg|thumb|''Lobster, Crab, and a Cucumber'' by [[William Henry Hunt (painter)|William Henry Hunt]] (watercolour, 1826 or 1827)]]

Humans are claimed to have eaten lobster since early history. Large piles of lobster shells near areas populated by fishing communities attest to the crustacean's extreme popularity during this period. Evidence indicates that lobster was being consumed as a regular food product in fishing communities along the shores of Britain,<ref name="Townsend-2011" /> South Africa,<ref name="Townsend-2011" /> Australia, and Papua New Guinea years ago. Lobster became a significant source of nutrients among European coastal dwellers. Historians suggest lobster was an important secondary food source for most European coastal dwellers, and it was a primary food source for coastal communities in Britain during this time.<ref name="Townsend-2011">{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster: A Global History|publisher=Reaktion Books, Limited|year=2011|isbn=9781861899958|pages=24–26}}</ref>

Lobster became a popular mid-range delicacy during the [[Roman Empire|mid to late Roman period]]. The price of lobster could vary widely due to various factors, but evidence indicates that lobster was regularly transported inland over long distances to meet popular demand. A mosaic found in the ruins of [[Pompeii]] suggests that the [[spiny lobster]] was of considerable interest to the Roman population during the early imperial period.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=25|oclc=787845160}}</ref>

Lobster was a popular food among the [[Moche culture|Moche people]] of Peru between 50 CE and 800 CE. Besides its use as food, lobster shells were also used to create a light pink dye, ornaments, and tools. A mass-produced lobster-shaped effigy vessel dated to this period attests to lobster's popularity at this time, though the purpose of this vessel has not been identified.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=25–26|oclc=787845160}}</ref>

The [[Viking Age|Viking period]] saw an increase in lobster and other shellfish consumption among northern Europeans. This can be attributed to the overall increase in marine activity due to the development of better boats and the increasing cultural investment in building ships and training sailors. The consumption of marine life went up overall in this period, and the consumption of lobster went up in accordance with this general trend.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=26–27|oclc=787845160}}</ref>

Unlike fish, however, lobster had to be cooked within two days of leaving salt water, limiting the availability of lobster for inland dwellers. Thus lobster, more than fish, became a food primarily available to the relatively well-off, at least among non-coastal dwellers.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=27|oclc=787845160}}</ref>
[[File:The Lobster Pot - a shellfish company from Wales - 2016.webm|thumb|A short video on catching and wholesale exports; 2016]]

Lobster is first mentioned in cookbooks during the medieval period. ''[[Le Viandier|Le Viandier de Taillevent]],'' a French recipe collection written around 1300, suggests that lobster (also called saltwater crayfish) be "Cooked in wine and water, or in the oven; eaten in vinegar."<ref>{{Cite web|title=James Prescott - Le Viandier de Taillevent - Translation - Round Saltwater Fish|url=http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier439.html|access-date=2021-01-20|website=www.telusplanet.net|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226220913/http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier439.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''Le Viandier de Taillevent'' is considered to be one of the first "haute cuisine" cookbooks, advising on how to cook meals that would have been quite elaborate for the period and making usage of expensive and hard to obtain ingredients. Though the original edition, which includes the recipe for lobster, was published before the birth of French court cook [[Guillaume Tirel]], Tirel later expanded and republished this recipe collection, suggesting that the recipes included in both editions were popular among the highest circles of French nobility, including King Philip VI.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Trubek, Amy B.|title=Haute cuisine : how the French invented the culinary profession|year=2001|orig-year= 2000|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=0-8122-1776-4|location=Philadelphia, Pa.|oclc=48136425}}</ref> The inclusion of a lobster recipe in this cookbook, especially one which does not make use of other more expensive ingredients, attests to the popularity of lobster among the wealthy. 

The French household guidebook ''[[Le Ménagier de Paris]]'', published in 1393, includes no less than five recipes including lobster, which vary in elaboration.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Le Menagier de Paris (c)Janet Hinson, translator|url=http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Menagier/Menagier.html|access-date=2021-01-20|website=www.daviddfriedman.com}}</ref> A guidebook intended to provide advice for women running upper-class households, ''Le Ménagier de Paris'' is similar to its predecessor in that it indicates the popularity of lobster as a food among the upper classes.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The good wife's guide = Le ménagier de Paris : a medieval household book|date=2009|publisher=Cornell University Press|others=Greco, Gina L., Rose, Christine M., 1949-|isbn=978-0-8014-6196-5|location=Ithaca|oclc=732957170}}</ref>

That lobster was first mentioned in cookbooks during the 1300s and only mentioned in two during this century should not be taken as an implication that lobster was not widely consumed before or during this time. Recipe collections were virtually non-existent before the 1300s, and only a handful exist from the medieval period.

During the early 1400s, lobster was still a popular dish among the upper classes. During this time, influential households used the variety and variation of species served at feasts to display wealth and prestige. Lobster was commonly found among these spreads, indicating that it continued to be held in high esteem among the wealthy. In one notable instance, the [[Bishop of Salisbury]] offered at least 42 kinds of crustaceans and fish at his feasts over nine months, including several varieties of lobster. However, lobster was not a food exclusively accessed by the wealthy. The general population living on the coasts made use of the various food sources provided by the ocean, and shellfish especially became a more popular source of nutrition. Among the general population, lobster was generally eaten boiled during the mid-15th century, but the influence of the cuisine of higher society can be seen in that it was now also regularly eaten cold with vinegar. The inland peasantry would still have generally been unfamiliar with lobster during this time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=28|oclc=787845160}}</ref>

Lobster continued to be eaten as a delicacy and a general staple food among coastal communities until the late 17th century. During this time, the influence of the Church and the government regulating and sometimes banning meat consumption during certain periods continued to encourage the popularity of seafood, especially shellfish, as a [[meat alternative]] among all classes. Throughout this period, lobster was eaten fresh, [[Pickling|pickled]], and [[Salting (food)|salted]]. From the late 17th century onward, developments in fishing, transportation, and cooking technology allowed lobster to more easily make its way inland, and the variety of dishes involving lobster and cooking techniques used with the ingredient expanded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=28–31|oclc=787845160}}</ref> However, these developments coincided with a decrease in the lobster population, and lobster increasingly became a delicacy food, valued among the rich as a status symbol and less likely to be found in the diet of the general population.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=35|oclc=787845160}}</ref>

The American lobster was not originally popular among European colonists in North America. This was partially due to the European inlander's association of lobster with barely edible salted seafood and partially due to a cultural opinion that seafood was a lesser alternative to meat that did not provide the taste or nutrients desired. It was also due to the extreme abundance of lobster at the time of the colonists' arrival, which contributed to a general perception of lobster as an undesirable peasant food.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|title=Lobster : a global history|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8|location=London|pages=31–35|oclc=787845160}}</ref> The American lobster did not achieve popularity until the mid-19th century when New Yorkers and Bostonians developed a taste for it,<ref name="smack1"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Edison: Inventing the Century |first=Neil |last=Baldwin |publisher=Hyperion |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-226-03571-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/edisoninventingc00bald | url-access = registration |page=242}}</ref> and commercial lobster fisheries only flourished after the development of the [[Well smack|lobster smack]],<ref name="smack1">{{cite book |first=Colin |last=Woodard |url=https://archive.org/details/lobstercoastrebe00wood/page/170 |title=The Lobster Coast |publisher=New York: Viking/Penguin |isbn=978-0-670-03324-9 |year=2004 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lobstercoastrebe00wood/page/170 170–180] }}</ref> a custom-made boat with open holding wells on the deck to keep the lobsters alive during transport.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lobster Institute: History |work=The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine |url=http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=52 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907212957/http://www.lobster.um.maine.edu/index.php?page=52 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 7, 2006 |access-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref>

Before this time, lobster was considered a [[poverty food]] or as a food for [[indentured servant]]s or lower members of society in [[Maine]], [[Massachusetts]], and the [[The Maritimes|Canadian Maritimes]]. Some servants specified in employment agreements that they would not eat lobster more than twice per week,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/occoa18|title=18 Ocean and Coastal Law Journal 2012-2013|website=heinonline.org|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref> however there is limited evidence for this.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbcmYPVphZUC&q=prisoners+eat+lobster&pg=PT18|title=Lobster: A Global History|last=Townsend|first=Elisabeth|date=January 1, 2012 |publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-995-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/how-lobster-went-up-in-the-world-xnbgmwkm77z|title=How lobster went up in the world |last=Henderson |first=Mark |date=October 24, 2005|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=January 11, 2018|location=London|url-access=registration }}</ref> {{anchor|AnchorPrison}} American lobster was initially deemed worthy only of being used as [[fertilizer]] or fish bait, and until well into the 20th century, it was not viewed as more than a low-priced canned staple food.<ref name="Fish Forever">{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Johnson |title=Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood | chapter=Lobster | publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7645-8779-5|pages=163–175}}</ref>

As a crustacean, lobster remains a [[taboo food]] in the [[dietary laws]] of [[Judaism]] and [[List of halal and kosher fish|certain streams]] of [[Islam]].{{NoteTag|See also: [[Kashrut]], [[Halal]], and [[List of halal and kosher fish]]}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gfs.com/en-us/ideas/eating-according-religious-practices-kosher-and-halal|title=Eating According to Religious Practices: Kosher and Halal|last1=Gagne|first1=Anne-Marie|last2=RD|website=Gordon Food Service|date=April 13, 2016|language=en-us|access-date=2020-02-07|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610181043/https://www.gfs.com/en-us/ideas/eating-according-religious-practices-kosher-and-halal|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Grading ===
{{See also|Food grading}}
Caught lobsters are graded as new-shell, hard-shell, or old-shell. Because lobsters that have recently shed their shells are the most delicate, an inverse relationship exists between the price of American lobster and its flavor. New-shell lobsters have paper-thin shells and a worse meat-to-shell ratio, but the meat is very sweet. However, the lobsters are so delicate that even transport to Boston almost kills them, making the market for new-shell lobsters strictly local to the fishing towns where they are offloaded. Hard-shell lobsters with firm shells but less sweet meat can survive shipping to Boston, New York, and even Los Angeles, so they command a higher price than new-shell lobsters. Meanwhile, old-shell lobsters, which have not shed since the previous season and have a coarser flavor, can be shipped by air anywhere in the world and arrive alive, making them the most expensive.

=== Killing methods and animal welfare ===
{{Further|Pain in crustaceans}}
[[File:Lobster for sale in Connecticut in salt water tank.jpg|thumb|right|Lobsters in a tank at a fish market]]
Several methods are used for killing lobsters. The most common way of killing lobsters is by placing them live in boiling water, sometimes after being placed in a freezer for a period. Boiling lobsters has been banned in several jurisdictions, including Switzerland, New Zealand, and parts of Italy. In Italy, offenders face fines of up to €495.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Bruce |date=March 6, 2004 |title=Italian animal rights law puts lobster off the menu |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1456270/Italian-animal-rights-law-puts-lobster-off-the-menu.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1456270/Italian-animal-rights-law-puts-lobster-off-the-menu.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Another method is to split the lobster or sever the body in half lengthwise. To effectively kill the lobster quickly, the whole lobster must be split in two (not just its head, as is the practice in some restaurants).<ref name=":1" /> Lobsters may also be killed or immobilized immediately before boiling by a stab into the brain ([[pithing]]), in the belief that this will stop suffering. However, a lobster's brain operates from not one but several [[Ganglion|ganglia]], and disabling only the frontal ganglion does not usually result in death.<ref name="Yue">{{cite journal|first=S. |last=Yue |year=2008|title=The welfare of crustaceans at slaughter|journal=Impacts on Farm Animals|publisher=Humane Society of the United States|url=http://animalstudiesrepository.org/hsus_reps_impacts_on_animals/4}}</ref> Lobsters can be killed by [[electrocution]] prior to cooking with a device called the [[CrustaStun]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/ill-have-my-lobster-electrocuted-please-1824925.html|title=I'll have my lobster electrocuted, please|first=A. |last=McSmith |work=[[The Independent]]|year=2009|access-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref> Another method of rendering a lobster unconscious, chilling, has not been found to be effective.<ref name=":1" />

====Boiled alive====
[[File:Lobster - Maine.jpg|thumb|A lobster with its claws bound after being boiled alive]]

Boiling has been deemed to cause extreme suffering in lobsters, which continue to show intense brain activity for 30 to 150 seconds after immersion in boiling water.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Birch |first1=Jonathan |last2=Burn |first2=Charlotte |last3=Schnell |first3=Alexandra |last4=Browning |first4=Heather |last5=Crump |first5=Andrew |date=2021 |title=Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopod Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/News-Assets/PDFs/2021/Sentience-in-Cephalopod-Molluscs-and-Decapod-Crustaceans-Final-Report-November-2021.pdf |journal=LSE Consulting. LSE Enterprise LTD. The London School of Economics and Political Science.}}</ref> Slowly raising the water temperature may also cause pain in crustaceans over a longer period of time.<ref name=":1" />

In 2021, a study conducted by experts from the [[London School of Economics]] concluded there was "strong scientific evidence [[decapod crustacean]]s and [[cephalopod]] molluscs are [[sentience|sentient]]". As of 2025, boiling lobsters alive remains common practice in the UK, although lawyers have argued that it could be considered illegal under animal welfare legislation. Lobsters in the UK have been legally recognized as sentient beings since the introduction of the [[Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pritchett |first1=Liam |title=The UK Government Is Facing Legal Action Over Lobsters – Here's Why |url=https://plantbasednews.org/news/environment/government-legal-action-lobsters/ |website=Plant Based News |date=June 17, 2024 |access-date=4 February 2025}}</ref>

=====Legal status=====
[[Norway]], [[Austria]], [[New Zealand]] and some [[Australia]]n territories also place restrictions on the inhumane treatment of lobsters. Cities in [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] also have explicitly banned the practice of boiling lobsters alive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/why-are-we-still-boiling-lobsters-alive|title=Why Are We Still Boiling Lobsters Alive?|website=melmagazine.com|date=14 March 2018 |access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref>

======Switzerland======
In 2018, [[Switzerland]] was the first country to ban the live boiling of lobsters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/switzerland-lobster-boiling-banned/index.html|title=Switzerland bans boiling lobsters alive|date=12 January 2018|website=[[CNN]]|access-date=3 December 2021}}</ref> In Switzerland lobsters need to be knocked out, or killed instantly, before they are boiled. They also receive other forms of protection while in transit.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Tori Weldon|title=Swiss ban against boiling lobster alive brings smiles — at first|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/swiss-ban-boiling-lobster-alive-1.4484642|publisher=[[CBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Switzerland bans crustacean cruelty|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/animal-welfare_switzerland-bans-crustacean-cruelty-/43814438|website=SWI swissinfo.ch|date=January 10, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author1=Francesca Street|title=Switzerland bans boiling lobsters alive|url=http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/switzerland-lobster-boiling-banned/index.html|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=January 12, 2018}}</ref>

=== Recognition of the sentience of European lobsters ===
A 2021 London School of Economics report found strong evidence to suggest that lobsters can experience pain.<ref name=":1" /> Dr Jonathan Birch, Principal Investigator on the project, said, "After reviewing over 300 scientific studies, we concluded that cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans should be regarded as sentient, and should therefore be included within the scope of animal welfare law."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-19 |title=Octopuses, crabs and lobsters to be recognised as sentient beings under UK law following LSE report findings |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2021/k-November-21/Octopuses-crabs-and-lobsters-welfare-protection |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=The London School of Economics and Political Science}}</ref>

Following the publication of the report, octopuses, crabs and lobsters are now protected under stronger animal welfare legislation in the UK (under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lobsters, octopus and crabs recognised as sentient beings |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lobsters-octopus-and-crabs-recognised-as-sentient-beings |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>

== Fishery and aquaculture ==
{{Main|Lobster fishing}}
Lobsters are caught using [[lobster trap|baited one-way traps]] with a color-coded marker buoy to mark cages. Lobster is fished in water between {{convert|1|and|500|fathom|m|sigfig=1|order=flip}}, although some lobsters live at {{convert|2000|fathom|m|order=flip}}. Cages are of plastic-coated galvanized steel or wood. A lobster fisher may tend to as many as 2,000 traps. 

In the United States, conservation measures include a [[federal law prohibiting]] the purchase, sale, transport, shipment, or possession of any lobster that is less than 3 1/4 inches or more than 5 inches in length, or that are egg-bearing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/12/title12sec6431.html|title=Title 12, §6431: Lobster measurement|website=www.mainelegislature.org}}</ref> American lobstermen are required to mark egg-bearing female lobsters with a [[V-notch]], a small, painless slit made to the tail that indicates to future trappers that fertile lobsters must always be thrown back into the sea upon capture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/american-lobster|title=American Lobster &#124; NOAA Fisheries|date=August 25, 2025|website=NOAA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/american-lobster/recreational|title=American Lobster: Recreational &#124; NOAA Fisheries|website=www.fisheries.noaa.gov}}</ref>

Around the year 2000, owing to overfishing and high demand, lobster [[aquaculture]] expanded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.uwphoto.no/articles_folder/lobster_farming_in_Norway.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031004033227/http://articles.uwphoto.no/articles_folder/lobster_farming_in_Norway.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 4, 2003 |author1=Asbjørn Drengstig, Tormod Drengstig |author2=Tore S. Kristiansen |name-list-style=amp |publisher=UWPhoto ANS |title=Recent development on lobster farming in Norway – prospects and possibilities}}</ref>

== Species ==
{{Multiple image
| width = 220
| header = Examples of Nephropidae
| direction = vertical
| align = right
| image1 = Acanthocaris tenuimana.jpg
| caption1 = ''[[Acanthacaris tenuimana]]''
| image2 = Metanephrops japonicus edit.jpg
| caption2 = ''[[Metanephrops japonicus]]''
| image3 = Nephropsis rosea.jpg
| caption3 = ''[[Nephropsis rosea]]''
}}
The [[fossil record]] of clawed lobsters extends back at least to the [[Valanginian]] age of the [[Cretaceous]] (140 million years ago).<ref>{{cite journal |journal=[[Journal of Paleontology]] |year=2005 |volume=79 |issue=5 |pages=961–968 |doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0961:HAANSO]2.0.CO;2 |title=''Hoploparia albertaensis'', a new species of clawed lobster (Nephropidae) from the Late Coniacean, shallow-marine Bad Heart Formation of northwestern Alberta, Canada |author1=Dale Tshudy |author2=W. Steven Donaldson |author3=Christopher Collom |author4=Rodney M. Feldmann |author5=Carrie E. Schweitzer  |s2cid=131067067 }}</ref> This list contains all 54 extant species in the family [[Nephropides|Nephropidae]]:<ref>{{cite journal|first=Tin-Yam |last=Chan |year=2010 |title=Annotated checklist of the world's marine lobsters (Crustacea: Decapoda: Astacidea, Glypheidea, Achelata, Polychelida) |journal=[[The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology]] |volume=Suppl. 23 |pages=153–181 |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s23/s23rbz153-181.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316150833/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s23/s23rbz153-181.pdf |archive-date=March 16, 2012}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Acanthacaris]]''
:*''[[Acanthacaris caeca]]'' <small>A. Milne-Edwards, 1881</small>
:*''[[Acanthacaris tenuimana]]'' <small>Bate, 1888</small>
*''[[Dinochelus]]'' <small>Ahyong, Chan & Bouchet, 2010</small>
:*''[[Dinochelus ausubeli]]'' <small>Ahyong, Chan & Bouchet, 2010</small>
*''[[Eunephrops]]'' <small>Smith, 1885</small>
:*''[[Eunephrops bairdii]]'' <small>Smith, 1885</small>
:*''[[Eunephrops cadenasi]]'' <small>Chace, 1939</small>
:*''[[Eunephrops luckhursti]]'' <small>Manning, 1997</small>
:*''[[Eunephrops manningi]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
*''[[Homarinus]]'' <small>Kornfield, Williams & Steneck, 1995</small>
:*''[[Cape lobster|Homarinus capensis]]'' <small>(Herbst, 1792)</small> – Cape lobster
*''[[Homarus]]'' <small>Weber, 1795</small>
:*''[[American lobster|Homarus americanus]]'' <small>H. Milne-Edwards, 1837</small> – American lobster
:*''[[Homarus gammarus]]'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> – European lobster
*''[[Metanephrops]]'' <small>Jenkins, 1972</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops andamanicus]]'' <small>(Wood-Mason, 1892)</small> – Andaman lobster
:*''[[Metanephrops arafurensis]]'' <small>(De Man, 1905)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops armatus]]'' <small>Chan & Yu, 1991</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops australiensis]]'' <small>(Bruce, 1966)</small> – Australian scampi
:*''[[Metanephrops binghami]]'' <small>(Boone, 1927)</small> – Caribbean lobster
:*''[[Metanephrops boschmai]]'' <small>(Holthuis, 1964)</small> – Bight lobster
:*''[[Metanephrops challengeri]]'' <small>(Balss, 1914)</small> – New Zealand scampi
:*''[[Metanephrops formosanus]]'' <small>Chan & Yu, 1987</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops japonicus]]'' <small>(Tapparone-Canefri, 1873)</small> – Japanese lobster
:*''[[Metanephrops mozambicus]]'' <small>Macpherson, 1990</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops neptunus]]'' <small>(Bruce, 1965)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops rubellus]]'' <small>(Moreira, 1903)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops sagamiensis]]'' <small>(Parisi, 1917)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops sibogae]]'' <small>(De Man, 1916)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops sinensis]]'' <small>(Bruce, 1966)</small> – China lobster
:*''[[Metanephrops taiwanicus]]'' <small>(Hu, 1983)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops thomsoni]]'' <small>(Bate, 1888)</small>
:*''[[Metanephrops velutinus]]'' <small>Chan & Yu, 1991</small>
*''[[Nephropides]]'' <small>Manning, 1969</small>
:*''[[Nephropides caribaeus]]'' <small>Manning, 1969</small>
*''[[Nephrops]]'' <small>Leach, 1814</small>
:*''[[Nephrops norvegicus]]'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> – Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, langoustine
*''[[Nephropsis]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1872</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis acanthura]]'' <small>Macpherson, 1990</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis aculeata]]'' <small>Smith, 1881</small> – Florida lobsterette
:*''[[Nephropsis agassizii]]'' <small>A. Milne-Edwards, 1880</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis atlantica]]'' <small>Norman, 1882</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis carpenteri]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1885</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis ensirostris]]'' <small>Alcock, 1901</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis holthuisii]]'' <small>Macpherson, 1993</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis malhaensis]]'' <small>Borradaile, 1910</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis neglecta]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis occidentalis]]'' <small>Faxon, 1893</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis rosea]]'' <small>Bate, 1888</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis serrata]]'' <small>Macpherson, 1993</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis stewarti]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1872</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis suhmi]]'' <small>Bate, 1888</small>
:*''[[Nephropsis sulcata]]'' <small>Macpherson, 1990</small>
*''[[Thaumastocheles]]'' <small>Wood-Mason, 1874</small>
:*''[[Thaumastocheles dochmiodon]]'' <small>Chan & Saint Laurent, 1999</small>
:*''[[Thaumastocheles japonicus]]'' <small>Calman, 1913</small>
:*''[[Thaumastocheles zaleucus]]'' <small>(Thomson, 1873)</small>
*''[[Thaumastochelopsis]]'' <small>Bruce, 1988</small>
:*''[[Thaumastochelopsis brucei]]'' <small>Ahyong, Chu & Chan, 2007</small>
:*''[[Thaumastochelopsis wardi]]'' <small>Bruce, 1988</small>
*''[[Thymopides]]'' <small>Burukovsky & Averin, 1977</small>
:*''[[Thymopides grobovi]]'' <small>(Burukovsky & Averin, 1976)</small>
:*''[[Thymopides laurentae]]'' <small>Segonzac & Macpherson, 2003</small>
*''[[Thymops]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
:*''[[Thymops birsteini]]'' <small>(Zarenkov & Semenov, 1972)</small>
*''[[Thymopsis nilenta|Thymopsis]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
:*''[[Thymopsis nilenta]]'' <small>Holthuis, 1974</small>
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Crustaceans}}
* [[Gérard de Nerval]], a French writer who kept a lobster as a pet
* [[Lobster War]], an early-1960s diplomatic conflict between [[Brazil]] and [[France]] over spiny lobster fishing territories
* [[Caridoid escape reaction|Lobstering]], an innate escape mechanism in marine and freshwater [[crustacean]]s

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|32em}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Corson |first=Trevor |title=The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean |year=2005 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-055559-7 |edition=1st Harper Perennial |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOMhHfKjeUoC}}
* {{cite book |title=Lobsters: Biology, Management, Aquaculture and Fisheries |editor-first=Bruce F. |editor-last=Phillips |publisher=Wiley |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4051-2657-1 |doi=10.1002/9780470995969|url=http://www.gbv.de/dms/bowker/toc/9781405126571.pdf }}
* {{cite book |last=Townsend |first=Elisabeth |title=Lobster: A Global History |year=2012 |publisher=Reaktion Books |location=London |isbn=978-1-86189-794-7}}

== External links ==
{{Cookbook|Lobster}}
* {{cite book |year=1991 |url=http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/lobsters.php?menuentry=inleiding |title=Marine Lobsters of the World |first=Lipke |last=Holthuis |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |author-link=Lipke Holthuis |access-date=June 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913113438/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/lobsters.php?menuentry=inleiding |archive-date=September 13, 2007 |url-status=dead }}
* [http://www.lobsterscience.ca/ Atlantic Veterinary College Lobster Science Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206104523/http://lobsterscience.ca/ |date=December 6, 2010 }}

{{Nephropidae genera}}
{{commercial fish topics}}
{{Edible crustaceans}}
{{Seafood}}
{{Meat|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1038113}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Animal-based seafood]]
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[[Category:Taxa named by James Dwight Dana]]
[[Category:True lobsters]]
[[Category:Extant Valanginian first appearances]]