There are twelve basic parts of a lobster. The abdomen the
commonly referred to as the tail of the lobster. Their antennae are tactile
organs, which are used for sense of touch. The carapace the outer shell of the
cephalothorax. In a sense, it is the protective layer. The cephalothorax is the
part of the lobster including the head and thorax sections. This makes up the
body. The first chelipod is the crusher claw. This is the larger of the claws,
and it has a rounded surface for crushing prey. The second chelipod is the
smaller of the claws, known as the ripper or pincher claw. This claw is more
pointed and sharp for tearing food apart. Lobsters have compund eyes for their
sense of sight. Their mandiable is a jawlike structure used for crushing and
eating food. A lobsters’ pereiopods are its walking legs. There are two sets of
walking legs right behind the claws, which are also used for catching and
eating food and have taste sensors. The two sets in the back are used for
walking. The pleopods are known as swimmerets and have tiny hairs. For females
the hairs are a bit longer and are attachment points for eggs. The telson is
the central tail fin. The uropods are the outer pairs of tail fins.  |
| Female |
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| Male |
Both male and female lobsters have similar appendages behind
the walker legs. However, with males, theirs are bony, and females have
feathery like appendages. The tail can also be used to identify the sex of
lobsters. Females the tail is broad for room to hold the egg mass. A male’s
tail is narrower in comparison. Female lobsters carry thousands of eggs attached to their
swimmerets. On average, the eggs are attached for about a year, but it varies
depending on water temperature. Even though a female lobster carries thousands
of eggs, only about 0.1% of the eggs make it over six weeks without being
dropped.
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| Lobster holding its own claw, which appears to have removed itself. |
Lobsters can regenerate and remove certain body parts on
their own. They can amputate their own claws and legs to escape danger, but
sometimes a lobster will drop a claw with no obvious reason. Lobster blood is a
clear fluid, but when the creature is boiled, it transforms into a opaque
whitish gel. It does not have flavor and safe to eat. If a wounded lobster if
caught, it is best to throw it back into the ocean. If it is bleeding, the sea
bottom in the best pace for the lobster to be since the water pressure will
assist in stopping the bleeding. If the lobster has been hauled at the legal
size, it can be kept in the trap, and the trap can be reset for a later date.
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| Lobster that has just finished molting, beside its old shell. |
Lobsters molt in order to grow. Molting is when an animal
sheds its shell. Lobsters emit enzymes to soften the shell and the connective
joints. When the shell splits down the back, the lobster backs out leaving the
shell behind. With every molt, a lobster grows around twenty percent. When a
lobster gets to the legal size for hauling, it will have molted between twenty
and twenty-five times, with about four or five molts per year. When an animals
first molts, it is very vulnerable since the new shell is soft at first.
Lobsters will hide in the rocks for six to eight weeks until the new shell hardens
enough to be good protection. The larva of lobster also molt. They molt about
six times while they are still in the egg. The larva are released from the
mother’s swimmerets to hatch. They float freely in the water column and molt
several more times before they even begin to look like lobsters people know of.
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