Zoology: Invertebrates

The Columbia Encyclopedia,... The Oxford Pocket Dictionary... A Dictionary of Food and... World Encyclopedia Further reading

lobster

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

lobster marine crustacean with five pairs of jointed legs, the first bearing large pincerlike claws of unequal size adapted to crushing the shells of its prey. The segmented body of the lobster consists of a large cephalothorax (made up of 14 segments) and a moveable, muscular abdomen (composed of 7 segments). It is covered with a chitinous exoskeleton that is typically dark green with some orange and red in the living animal and bright red when cooked. As the lobster grows, the exoskeleton is periodically molted and a new, larger one is formed in its place.

Lobsters have 20 pairs of gills attached to the bases of the legs and to the sides of the body; the gills are protected by the carapace, the large area of the exoskeleton covering the back and sides of the cephalothorax. In addition to the legs, the appendages consist of 2 paired antennae, 6 pairs of mouth parts, and the small swimmerets attached to the abdominal segments. In the female the eggs remain attached to the swimmerets for 10 or 11 months until they hatch into free-swimming larvae.

The larvae swim for about a year, molting between 14 and 17 times before they settle to the bottom and begin to take on adult characteristics. Lobsters crawl briskly over the ocean floor and swim backward with great speed by scooping motions of the muscular abdomen and tail, but are clumsy on land. They are scavengers but also prey on shellfish and may even attack live fish and large gastropods . Over a period of five years they grow to an average weight of 3 lb (1.4 kg).

There are more than 100 varieties of lobster. The common American lobster, Homarus americanus, is found inshore in summer and in deeper waters in winter from Labrador to North Carolina, but especially along the New England coast, where the chief lobster fisheries are located. Lobsters are caught in slatted wooden traps, or "pots," baited with dead fish. Although protected by law and raised by several hatcheries on the New England coast, they are still in danger of extinction. In Europe a species of Homarus similar to the American is found, but the smaller, less closely related Norway lobster or Dublin prawn, Nephrops norvegicus, is more important commercially.

The spiny, or rock, lobsters, found in warm seas of both hemispheres, are actually marine crayfish (genus Panulirus ); they lack claws but have sharp spines on the carapace. The stout-bodied, sometimes brightly colored squat lobsters are close relatives of the hermit crab ; their broad abdomens are usually tucked under their bodies, as in crabs, but can be extended and used for backward swimming, as in the true lobsters. True lobsters are classified in the phylum Arthropoda , subphylum Crustacea, order Decapoda, family Nephropidae or Homaridae.

Bibliography: See J. V. Dueland, Book of the Lobster (1973); F. H. Herrick, Natural History of the American Lobster (1977); J. R. Factor, ed., Biology of the Lobster (1995); R. D. Martin, Tale of the Lobster (2002); R. J. King, Lobster (2011); E. Townsend, Lobster: A Global History (2011).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"lobster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lobster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-lobster.html

"lobster." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

lobster

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

lob·ster / ˈläbstər/ • n. a large marine crustacean (Homarus and other genera, class Malacostraca) with stalked eyes and the first of its five pairs of limbs modified as pincers. Several species include the American lobster (H. americanus). ∎ the flesh of this animal as food. ∎ any of various similar crustaceans, esp. certain crayfish whose claws are eaten as food. • v. [intr.] catch lobsters. ORIGIN: Old English lopustre, alteration of Latin locusta ‘crustacean, locust.’

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"lobster." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lobster." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-lobster.html

"lobster." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

lobster

A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition | 2005 | | Copyright

lobster A crustacean, Homerus vulgaris. A 100‐g portion (meat from half a dressed lobster) is a rich source of protein, niacin, vitamin B₁₂, and copper; a source of zinc, vitamin B₁, niacin, folate, and calcium; contains 370 mg of sodium and 3.5 g of fat; supplies 130 kcal (550 kJ).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

DAVID A. BENDER. "lobster." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

DAVID A. BENDER. "lobster." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-lobster.html

DAVID A. BENDER. "lobster." A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

lobster

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

lobster Large, long-tailed, marine decapod crustacean. True lobsters (Homaridae) possess enlarged bulbous chelae (claws) and a segmented body. Some species are edible. Lobsters live in rocky crevices at the bottom of the ocean, feeding at night on seaweed and animals. Weight: up to 23kg (50lbs).

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"lobster." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lobster." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-lobster.html

"lobster." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

lobster

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

lobster OE. loppestre, lopystre, lopustre — L. locusta crustacean, LOCUST, with unexpl. p for c, and -stre after agent-nouns in -stre -STER.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

T. F. HOAD. "lobster." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "lobster." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lobster.html

T. F. HOAD. "lobster." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

lobster

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

lobster •all-nighter, biter, blighter, fighter, igniter, inciter, indicter, inviter, lighter, mitre (US miter), overnighter, reciter, righter, sighter, smiter, writer •shyster • rhymester • backbiter •expediter • prizefighter • dogfighter •bullfighter • gunfighter • lamplighter •highlighter • downlighter •moonlighter • uplighter • firelighter •screenwriter • scriptwriter •copywriter • signwriter • typewriter •songwriter • ghostwriter •underwriter •blotter, cotta, cottar, dotter, gotta, hotter, jotter, knotter, otter, pelota, plotter, potter, ricotta, rotter, spotter, squatter, terracotta, totter, trotter •crofter •concocter, doctor, proctor •Volta • prompter • wanter •adopter, dioptre •Costa, coster, defroster, foster, Gloucester, impostor, paternoster, roster •lobster, mobster •oxter • monster • songster •witchdoctor • helicopter •teleprompter • globetrotter

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"lobster." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"lobster." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-lobster.html

"lobster." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-lobster.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Lobster wager; Lobster ME brings New England flavors to the desert.(Behind... Magazine article from: Seafood Business; 11/1/2011
	Lobsters on a roll; New research reveals that lobsters are too smart for... Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor; 1/9/2003
	Lobster.(Statistical Data Included) Magazine article from: Seafood Business; 12/1/2000