| Panulirus guttatus | |
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| Species: | P. guttatus |
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| Panulirus guttatus | |
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Panulirus guttatus, the spotted spiny lobster or Guinea chick lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on shallow rocky reefs in the tropical West Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.
Panulirus guttatus has a pair of compound eyes on flexible stalks, long thick spiny antennae, six pairs of small appendages around the mouth and five pairs of walking legs which are not tipped by large claws. The antennular plate bears two large, widely separated spines. The maximum length of this spiny lobster is about 20 cm (8 in) but a more normal length is 15 cm (6 in). The body color is purplish-black, heavily marked with conspicuous round white spots. The main leg segments are dark and spotted with white, but the penultimate leg segments have dark, longitudinal stripes on a pale background. [3]
Panulirus guttatus is native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea but it also [4] extends into the Gulf of Mexico. Its range extends from Bermuda, the Bahamas, southern Florida and the West Indies, to Curaçao, Bonaire, Los Roques and Suriname. It is found on rocky reefs in shallow water, at depths down to about 23 metres (75 ft), often hiding in crevices or under large coral heads. During the daylight hours they are in the coral reefs and while at nighttime the animals move away from the protective sites to feed on food along the ocean floor. [1] [3]
Panulirus guttatus is nocturnal and feeds on bivalve molluscs, gastropod molluscs, crustaceans and chitons which it finds by touch and with chemical cues. [5]
In Bermuda, breeding takes place from May to October, but in the warmer parts of its range, Panulirus guttatus breeds throughout the year. After mating, the female carries the eggs on her abdomen held under her tail. When ready to release the eggs, she migrates to the reef crest and their release is usually followed by moulting. The larvae have a very long developmental period and are planktonic at first, before becoming "pueruli" larvae, a transitional phase between planktonic larvae and benthic juveniles. They settle on the outermost shallow reef edges where there is vigorous water movement. [5]
There is no specific fishery for this species although it is caught incidentally when targeting other species, either by hand, with a spear or in traps. It is mostly marketed locally and eaten fresh. [3]
Panulirus guttatus is a common species and has a wide range. It is not currently the subject of commercial fishing on any great scale but may become so as the Caribbean spiny lobster ( Panulirus argus ) populations decline. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]
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.
Pillar coral is a hard coral found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Dendrogyra. It is a digitate coral -that is, it resembles fingers or a cluster of cigars, growing up from the sea floor without any secondary branching. It is large and can grow on both flat and sloping surfaces at depths down to 20 m (65 ft). It is one of the few types of hard coral in which the polyps can commonly be seen feeding during the day.
The California spiny lobster is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of 30 cm (12 in) and is a reddish-brown color with stripes along the legs, and has a pair of enlarged antennae but no claws. The interrupted grooves across the tail are characteristic for the species.
Panulirus cygnus is a species of spiny lobster, found off the west coast of Australia. Panulirus cygnus is the basis of Australia's most valuable fishery, making up 20% of value of Australia's total fishing industry, and is identified as the western rock lobster.
Panulirus argus, the Caribbean spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on reefs and in mangrove swamps in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Panulirus versicolor is a species of spiny lobster that lives in tropical reefs in the Indo-Pacific. Other names include painted rock lobster, common rock lobster, bamboo lobster, blue lobster, and blue spiny lobster. P. versicolor is one of the three most common varieties of spiny lobster in Sri Lanka, alongside Panulirus homarus and Panulirus ornatus.
The queen angelfish is a marine angelfish commonly found near reefs in the warmer sections of the western Atlantic Ocean. Other common names include blue angelfish, golden angelfish, queen angel, and yellow angelfish. Holocanthus ciliaris should not be confused with Holocanthus bermudensis, or the (Bermuda) blue angelfish, despite very similar appearances. They are two separate species.
Chromis cyanea is a damselfish in the subfamily Pomacentrinae, found in Bermuda, southern Florida and the Caribbean Sea.
Callistoctopus macropus, also known as the Atlantic white-spotted octopus, white-spotted octopus, grass octopus or grass scuttle, is a species of octopus found in shallow areas of the Mediterranean Sea, the warmer parts of the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Indo-Pacific region. This octopus feeds on small organisms which lurk among the branches of corals.
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.
Panulirus pascuensis is a species of spiny lobster found around Easter Island and the Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is known in English as the Easter Island spiny lobster and in Spanish as Langosta de Isla de Pascua. This lobster is fished on a small scale for local consumption.
Palinurus mauritanicus is a species of spiny lobster. It is found in deep waters in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.
The seaweed blenny is a species of combtooth blenny found in coral reefs in the western Atlantic Ocean along the coasts of New York, Bermuda, the Bahamas, also in the Gulf of Mexico, south to southern Brazil. This species reaches a length of 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) TL.
Panulirus ornatus is a large edible spiny lobster with 11 larval stages that has been successfully bred in captivity.
Siderastrea radians, also known as the lesser starlet coral or the shallow-water starlet coral, is a stony coral in the family Siderastreidae. It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean as small, solid mounds or encrusting sheets.
Panulirus echinatus, the brown spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on rocky reefs in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean and central Atlantic Islands.
Panulirus longipes, the longlegged spiny lobster, is a species of spiny lobster that lives on shallow rocky and coral reefs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Panulirus penicillatus is a species of spiny lobster that lives on shallow rocky and coral reefs in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Common names for this spiny lobster include variegated crayfish, tufted spiny lobster, spiny lobster, Socorro spiny lobster, red lobster, pronghorn spiny lobster, golden rock lobster, double spined rock lobster and coral cray. It has a very wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Panulirus polyphagus, the mud spiny lobster, is a species of crustacean that lives on shallow rocky reefs and muddy substrates in the tropical Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Panulirus inflatus, the blue spiny pobster, is species of crustacean in the family Palinuridae. It is found at rocky reefs to depths of 30 m (100 ft) in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico, ranging from Baja California to Chiapas. It is commonly caught in artisanal fisheries, but the species is not threatened, being categorized as least concern by the IUCN. There are no subspecies.
