Panulirus argus goes by many different names: spiny lobster, Florida lobster, Caribbean spiny lobster, rock lobster, or simply bug. Caribbean spiny lobsters are easily identified by their tan and brown color, light spots on their abdomen, sharp horns above their eyes, and two long conical antennae. Caribbean spiny lobsters typically grow to an average size between six and ten inches but can grow as large as two feet.
Caribbean spiny lobsters belong to the phylum Arthropoda, the largest phylum in the animal kingdom. Arthropods have segmented legs and a hard exoskeleton. More specifically, Caribbean spiny lobsters belong to the subphylum Crustacea. Crustaceans are distinguished by two pairs of antenna and three distinct body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. Caribbean spiny lobsters also fall into the largest order of crustaceans called Decapoda. Decapods have five pairs of legs, and the head if fused to the thorax. This is called the carapace. Decapods include shrimp, carbs, and of course lobsters. All lobsters live on the sea floor and mainly move by walking, but they also have the ability to quickly swim backward if frightened.
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| A Caribbean Spiny Lobster in his protective hole |
Caribbean spiny lobsters feed on a wide variety of organisms including gastropods, bivalves, other crustaceans, annelids, and echinoderms. They are in turn food for the goliath grouper, many different sharks, loggerhead turtles, octopods, and humans. The Caribbean spiny lobster is common in tropical and subtropical waters extending from the carolinas to Brazil. The life cycle of these organisms begins in the open ocean as larva. As they enter the swimming and juvenile stages, the lobsters migrate to inshore waters where they stay until adulthood. Adults are usually found offshore in the crevices of reefs or underwater structures. Caribbean spiny lobsters spawn between the months of March and June, and reproduction occurs outside of the body. Male lobsters give the female a spermatophore which is then inserted inside the female. Once the female is ready to lay her eggs, she finds a protected place and deposits the eggs. Sometime later the eggs hatch, and the larva are swept away to the open ocean where the first life stage begins.
References: "Indian River Lagoon Species Inventory Homepage." Smithsonian Marine Station (SMS) at Fort Pierce. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. <http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/index.htm>.; Humann, Paul, and Ned DeLoach. Reef Fish Identification: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas. Jacksonville, FL: New World Publications, 2002. 164-65, 188-89. Print.
