The Caridea, commonly known as caridean shrimp or true shrimp, are an infraorder of shrimp within the order Decapoda. This infraorder contains all species of true shrimp. They are found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Many other animals with similar names – such as the mud shrimp of Axiidea and the boxer shrimp of Stenopodidea – are not true shrimp, but many have evolved features similar to true shrimp.
Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and The Bahamas, called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish, terms which elsewhere are reserved for freshwater crayfish.
Lobsters are widely fished around the world for their meat. They are often hard to catch in large numbers, but their large size can make them a profitable catch. Although the majority of the targeted species are tropical, the majority of the global catch is in temperate waters.
Slipper lobsters are a family (Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda clade Reptantia, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lobsters. Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward from the head as wide plates. All the species of slipper lobsters are edible, and some, such as the Moreton Bay bug and the Balmain bug are of commercial importance.
The Cape lobster, Homarinus capensis, is a species of small lobster that lives off the coast of South Africa, from Dassen Island to Haga Haga. Only a few dozen specimens are known, mostly regurgitated by reef-dwelling fish. It lives in rocky reefs, and is thought to lay large eggs that have a short larval phase, or that hatch directly as a juvenile. The species grows to a total length of 10 cm (3.9 in), and resembles a small European or American lobster; it was previously included in the same genus, Homarus, although it is not very closely related to those species, and is now considered to form a separate, monotypic genus – Homarinus. Its closest relatives are the genera Thymops and Thymopides.
Metanephrops challengeri is a species of slim, pink lobster that lives around the coast of New Zealand. It is typically 13–18 cm (5–7 in) long and weighs around 100 g (3.5 oz). The carapace and abdomen are smooth, and adults are white with pink and brown markings and a conspicuous pair of long, slim claws. M. challengeri lives in burrows at depths of 140–640 m (460–2,100 ft) in a variety of sediments. Although individuals can live for up to 15 years, the species shows low fecundity, where small numbers of larvae hatch at an advanced stage.
Thenus orientalis is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Metanephrops boschmai, known as the Bight lobster, Bight scampi or Boschma's scampi, is a species of lobster endemic to Western Australia.
Scyllarus arctus is a species of slipper lobster which lives in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is uncommon in British and Irish waters, but a number of English-language vernacular names have been applied, including small European locust lobster, lesser slipper lobster and broad lobster.
Scyllarides latus, the Mediterranean slipper lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is edible and highly regarded as food, but is now rare over much of its range due to overfishing. Adults may grow to 1 foot (30 cm) long, are camouflaged, and have no claws. They are nocturnal, emerging from caves and other shelters during the night to feed on molluscs. As well as being eaten by humans, S. latus is also preyed upon by a variety of bony fish. Its closest relative is S. herklotsii, which occurs off the Atlantic coast of West Africa; other species of Scyllarides occur in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. The larvae and young animals are largely unknown.
Scyllarides is a genus of slipper lobsters.
Parribacus japonicus, the Japanese mitten lobster, is a species of slipper lobster. Though the common name for this lobster is the Japanese mitten lobster, it is locally called zōri-ebi (ゾウリエビ) – zōri denoting the Japanese sandal it resembles, and ebi meaning shrimp or lobster.
Eunephrops manningi, the banded lobster, is a species of lobster found in the West Indies. It was named in 1974 by carcinologist Lipke Holthuis after his friend and fellow carcinologist Raymond B. Manning.
Arctides is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing three species. The largest of these, A. antipodarum, has a carapace up to 100 millimetres (3.9 in) long, and is found off south-eastern Australia and parts of New Zealand. The other two species are smaller, at up to 70 millimetres (2.8 in) carapace length; A. guineensis is found in an area similar to the Bermuda Triangle; A. regalis is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific, from the Mascarene Islands to Hawaii and Easter Island.
Arctides guineensis is a species of slipper lobster that lives in the Bermuda Triangle. It is known in Bermuda as the small Spanish lobster, a name which is also favoured by the FAO.
Scyllarides aequinoctialis is a species of slipper lobster that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina to São Paulo State, Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Bermuda. Its common name is Spanish slipper lobster. It grows up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long, with a carapace 12 cm (4.7 in) long. S. aequinoctialis is the type species of the genus Scyllarides, and the first species of slipper lobster to be described from the Western Atlantic.
Scyllarus pygmaeus is a species of slipper lobster that lives in shallow water in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It grows to a length of 55 mm (2.2 in), which is too small for it to be fished for food. The juvenile form was first described in 1885, with the description of the adult following in 1888 as a result of the Challenger expedition.
Neoglyphea inopinata is a species of glypheoid lobster, a group thought long extinct before Neoglyphea was discovered. It is a lobster-like animal, up to around 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in length, although without claws. It is only known from 17 specimens, caught at two sites – one at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines, and one in the Timor Sea, north of Australia. Due to the small number of specimens available, little is known about the species, but it appears to live up to five years, with a short larval phase. A second species, previously included in Neoglyphea, is now placed in a separate genus, Laurentaeglyphea.
Ibacus ciliatus is a species of slipper lobster from the north-west Pacific Ocean.
Ibacus alticrenatus is a species of slipper lobster that lives in the waters of Australia and New Zealand.
