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The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. It is also known as Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, true lobster, northern lobster, Canadian Reds, [3] or Maine lobster.
American lobster (Homarus americanus) is an attractive crustacean found on the Northwest Atlantic coast, mainly from North Carolina in the US to Labrador, Canada. Its other common names include Maine lobster, True lobster, Atlantic lobster, Canadian lobster, and Northern lobster.
- Characteristics & Appearance
- Lifespan & Reproduction
- Habitat
- Food & Diet
- Threats & Predators
- Predators
- Conservation Status
- Fun Facts About American Lobsters
Weight & Length
The American lobster is the heaviest crustacean and the heaviest arthropod in the world. An average American lobster weighs between one and nine pounds, which isn’t that shocking. However, they can grow to enormous sizes. The heaviest recorded American lobster weighed a staggering 44 pounds, caught off the coast of Nova Scotia. The average length of an American lobster is 8 to 24 inches. An average male is about 9 inches long. The longest lobsters can reach 25 inches, making them also the lon...
Physical Characteristics & Color
People recognize American lobsters by the large round claws. Each claw serves a different purpose. One claw has rounded nodules to crush prey, while the other has sharper edges, which help to hold and tear prey. The other prominent feature of the American lobster is its antennae. Two long antennae sticking out of the front of the lobster’s head. American lobsters use small hairs on their antennae to smell. An American lobster has a keen sense of smell and can detect which direction smells ema...
American lobsters have an incredibly long lifespan. If they aren’t caught in lobster fishing traps and succumb to predators or disease, American lobsters can live for 100 to 140 years, and they never stop growing. Their lifespan dramatically surpasses that of their relative, the Caribbean spiny lobster, because of water temperature. Sea creatures g...
Where Does the American Lobster Live?
American lobsters live in the North Atlantic Ocean, off the east coast of North America. They have a limited range from Labrador, Canada in the north, to North Carolina in the south. However, sightings south of New Jerseyare quite rare. The species prefers shallow, cold water (less than 68F) in depths ranging from 13 to 160 feet and hides out under rocks. They can live in depths of up to 1,500 feet. When they are not mating, lobsters are solitary animals and guard their territory.
What Does the American Lobster Eat?
American lobsters hunt their prey at night when there are fewer predators. Mainly they scavenge for dead animals on the seafloor. However, American lobsters also use their strong claws to crush marine life with hard shells such as mussels and other mollusks, starfish(echinoderms), and sea worms (polychaetes). Humans provide an alternate and popular food source for American lobsters, which is herringused in lobster fishing traps. Most lobsters that enter fishing traps eat the bait and escape,...
Human Threats
Humans are American lobsters’ main predators, as they are harvested for food. Lobster is the most valuable fisheryin North America. In 2019 fishing fleets pulled 126 million pounds of lobster from the Atlantic, with a $630 million value. Plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean also has a detrimental impact on lobster populations, as lobster larvae ingest microplastics, leading to lower oxygen consumption rates.
Climate Change & Global Warming
Evidence suggests warming ocean temperatureshave led to a condition that causes minerals to accumulate on the lobster’s bodies, which causes them to suffocate and die. Warming oceans also makes lobster more prone to disease and problems with reproduction. Lobsters prefer water that is below 68°F. As they retreat from warmer waters, lobster fishing industries along the United States coast have collapsed. American lobsters are slowly moving northward as ocean temperatures rise, particularly in...
Besides humans, fish such as flounder and cod, eels, and seals all eat American lobsters. Lobsters are mainly nocturnal and hide from predators under rocks during the day. If confronted by a predator, a lobsterwill fight aggressively with its claws.
The American lobster currently enjoys a stable population and is not considered endangered or threatened, despite its rapid migration northward. The lobster fishing industry is highly regulated to ensure a healthy population, with stricter regulations in southern areas where populations are decreasing. Lobster fishing crews have minimum and maximum...
American lobsters have two urinary bladders in their heads. They use urine to attract mates and alert other lobsters of their whereabouts.American lobsters’ crushing claws can be on the right or the left side, so like humans, lobsters are right or left-handed.Pregnant lobsters are said to be “in berry” because the eggs attached to their bellies look like raspberries.Only 6 percent of lobsters that enter traps get caught. Most eat the bait and eventually find their way free.In 2013, an American lobster was caught at the Farallon Islands off the coast of California. It has been introduced to Norway and potentially Iceland.
Lobsters are ten-legged crustaceans closely related to shrimp and crabs. The bottom-dwelling American lobster flourishes in cold, rocky waters off the Atlantic coast of North America.
American lobster are bottom-dwelling crustaceans that are widely distributed over the continental shelf of North America. In the inshore waters of the U.S., they are most abundant from Maine through New Jersey, with abundance declining from north to south.
The American lobster is also known as the Massachusetts lobster, the Maine lobster, the Canadian lobster or the North Atlantic lobster. Where are lobsters caught? The American Lobster is found on the east coast of North America, from Newfoundland to North Carolina.
