Interesting facts about lobsters 🦞

Though they’re frequently thought of as a gourmet delicacy, lobsters are fascinating sea animals that are much more than just food for the table. Lobsters have a rich history, distinct biology, and intriguing habits, which mean they are full of surprises.

Did you know that lobsters have a lifespan of several decades and that they are constantly growing? What makes them so fascinating aren’t just their strong claws and resilient shells.

Lobsters have a unique digestive system and the capacity to regenerate lost limbs, among many other fascinating characteristics that set them apart from other animals. Let’s explore the world of lobsters in more detail and learn some of the most unexpected facts about these mollusks.

Lobster was once food for the poor

In Europe during the Middle Ages, lobsters were prized foods. The bezoar, or stone, in the lobster’s stomach was said to relieve stomach pain, and the tribune, or front part of the body, was ground into powder and used as a medicine in the treatment of urolithiasis.

However, after a few hundred years, people’s opinions on lobsters drastically shift. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were so many lobsters that the shells were used as fertilizer and the lobsters were fed to pigs. The poor and the incarcerated ate the most lobsters because they were so easy to catch right on the beach.

The lobster gradually gained popularity as a gourmet food in the late 1800s. Transporting live lobsters across the nation is now feasible thanks to advancements in refrigeration technology. Demand outpaced supply, pushing up the cost of these crustaceans. Even though supply and demand have fluctuated over time, lobsters are still regarded as gourmet cuisine today.

Lobsters are not actually red

THINKSTOCK / BORUT FURIAN photo

Most lobsters in the wild have a slight reddish tint and are mottled greenish-brown in color. Additionally, there are lobsters that are albino, orange, red, blue, yellow, green, and blue. Individuals with multicolored shells exist as well. These colors are sometimes the result of genetic mutations. In other situations, the lobster’s diet is to blame.

Cooking causes the pigmentation in lobsters to separate from the protein in their shell, which is why cooked lobsters turn a bright red color. The red hue is caused by the expression of astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment that is present in orange plants and is consumed by lobster prey.

There are 49 species of lobster in the world"s oceans

Out of all the lobster species found in the world’s oceans, only 33 are commercially used. The American, European, and spiny lobsters are the most popular and in demand. The large-clawed, greenish-brown American lobster inhabits the east coasts of both Canada and the United States. The European lobster, its cousin, is naturally dark blue with yellow belly and medium-sized claws. It can be found in the waters off of North Africa and Western Europe. Spicy lobsters, also known as spring lobsters, are multicolored marine animals that inhabit warmer waters worldwide.

Image courtesy of GETTY IMAGES

Additionally, there are two major categories of lobsters: spiny (also known as rock lobsters) and clawed. Most clammed lobsters inhabit cold coastal waters. Although spiny lobsters lack claws, they do have powerful, long antennae. Typically, these lobsters are found in warm waters like the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.

Lobsters can grow up to a meter

In 1977, the biggest lobster was captured off the coast of Nova Scotia. It was 107 cm long and 20.15 kg in weight. Still, very few lobsters grow to such enormous sizes. The average weight and length of an adult lobster is 680-900 grams, while the sleeper lobster is typically only 10 cm long.

Lobsters excrete their waste through their facial antennae

Nephrophores, or excretory apertures, are found at the base of the lobster’s second antennae. These excretory organs, also known as green glands, consist of a sac that is spirally connected to the bladder.

Nevertheless, excretion from the nephrophores is an essential component of the mating ritual for lobsters as well as a means of eliminating harmful waste products. The most aggressive, domineering male in the area is sought after by females, who show interest by frequently urinating in his shelter. Pheromones in their urine calm and relax the male and put him in the proper mood.

Lobsters have almost no vision

The eyes of a lobster are light-sensitive organs at the base of its antennae, but they are not able to distinguish between colors or form sharp images. Lobsters from deep waters are blind. Their three pairs of antennae provide the majority of their "vision." The two smaller pairs aid in their navigation by smelling objects that have dissolved in the water, while the larger pair is used for tactile perception. Although it is frequently confused for a nose, the structure between a lobster’s eyes serves only to shield the eyes during combat.

Picture credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Lobsters have two stomachs

One of these is situated directly behind the lobster’s eyes in its head. Food is ground up in this stomach using structures called gastric mills that resemble teeth. The food enters the other stomach once it is small enough. Similar to your liver, the digestive gland that makes up the majority of a lobster’s abdomen functions as a filter. When cooked, it becomes green and is regarded as a delicacy by some.

Losing a claw is not a problem for a lobster

Typically, clawed lobsters have two different sized claws. The bigger of the two is a crusher, which is employed to pulverize the captured prey’s shell. The lobster uses its cutter, which is located on the smaller of its two claws, to seize food and cut it into smaller pieces.

All lobsters have the same claws when they are young, but one of them eventually becomes a crusher. A lobster’s limbs regenerate during molting if it loses a claw or a leg. Up until the lobster reaches adulthood, it undergoes multiple moults annually. The shell splits during molting, allowing all of the hard parts to fall off. This is the period when any missing limbs regrow. In order to save its own life, the lobster can also independently give up a limb. We refer to this adaptive phenomenon as reflex amputation or autotomy.

Lobsters do not have vocal cords

Because of the noises coming from inside the pot, some people steer clear of cooking lobster at home. They believe it to be the last gasp of a lobster. However, the truth is that lobsters lack vocal cords and any other means of producing sound. Most likely, the sounds they hear are the result of the crustacean letting go of air inside its shell. When they rub their legs together, live lobsters can make a crackling sound, but that is the only sound they make.

But do lobsters even experience any pain? When compared to vertebrates, which have a complex nervous system, most researchers say no. The Norwegian Scientific Committee on Food Safety’s experiment has demonstrated that a lobster’s violent reaction to boiling water is actually nociception—a reflexive response to an unpleasant stimulus—rather than pain or suffering.

Being able to regenerate lost limbs and living for over a century are just two of the surprising traits that make lobsters fascinating animals. Because of the copper in their blood, these sea creatures are also blue-blooded, and they never stop growing—unlike most other animals. Despite being a staple in seafood dishes, lobsters lead complicated lives and are more than just food; their distinct behaviors and adaptations make them among the most fascinating creatures found in the ocean.

Lobster relationships last about two weeks

The dominant male in the area is courted to mate by the female, as was previously mentioned. The female must "undress" by shedding her shell before the male is ready to breed, which should happen after a few visits. The female remains in the male’s den until her shell regrows after mating. It takes ten to two weeks to complete the process.

However, a second female appears and follows suit. And another… and another… until the dominant male lobster has mated with every female. Lobsters thus develop into serial monogamists, with brief monogamous relationships followed by others, as opposed to lifelong mates.

Females can delay fertilization for up to two years

Eggs are not always fertilized immediately after mating. Sometimes the female finds one or more additional males to complete the fertilization process because the male does not provide enough sperm to fertilize all of her eggs, which could number in the tens of thousands. However, because the female determines when the conditions are ideal for reproduction, the eggs might not even fertilize even in that case. Before fertilizing eggs, she has up to two years to store live sperm in her body.

Before a female lays her eggs, the fertilized eggs may stay inside her for up to a year. After that, they may stay affixed to her tiny legs beneath her tail for an additional nine to eleven months.

The survival rate for lobster larvae is very low

Image by Jesica Waller

The larvae spend approximately a month floating freely in the water following hatching before settling on the ocean floor. They decide to live in rocky crevices and caves. Merely 1% of larvae make it to the bottom, and only two eggs out of every 50,000 hatch into adulthood. Females do not fertilize and lay eggs immediately because of their lengthy life cycle and low survival rate.

Lobsters can be cannibals

Lobsters go through several stages of development after hatching. They start eating fish eggs, zooplankton, and other larvae once they resemble baby lobsters. Adults hunt sea worms, starfish, gastropods, and crabs. They typically consume their own kind as well. Not all cannibalistic behavior, though, is restricted to young lobsters. Adults frequently consume trapped mature lobsters and recently molted juveniles.

They do not show signs of aging

Unlike most other animals, lobsters continue to molt and grow throughout their lives rather than aging and becoming weaker or losing the ability to reproduce. This does not imply that they live an eternal life, though. They eventually pass away from natural causes, even if they are not discovered. This is frequently the result of them running out of energy to molt, which can cause deadly illnesses.

In the wild, lobsters can live up to 55 years, but because of overfishing and predation, most only live much shorter lives. By assessing the amounts of lipofuscin, a pigment that is found in stored fat, in their brains, scientists can determine how old they are. However, current research indicates that counting the age groups that are well hidden inside the stomach mill is the most accurate method of determining the age of a lobster.

The unexpected characteristics that set lobsters apart from other animals make them fascinating animals. Their longevity and capacity for claw regeneration keep them fascinating to marine enthusiasts.

There’s much more to lobsters than meets the eye, even though they’re probably best known as a delicacy. Their unusual pheromone communication system, intricate anatomy, and surprising strength all contribute to their mystique.

Lobsters are full of surprises, whether it’s their blue blood or their long lifespan. These fascinating details highlight the true remarkableness of these animals.

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