Slipper lobsters Temporal range: | |
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Scyllarides latus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Infraorder: | Achelata |
Family: | Scyllaridae Latreille, 1825 [1] |
Subfamilies [2] | |
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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 ( Ibacus peronii ) are of commercial importance.
Slipper lobsters have six segments in their heads and eight segments in the thorax, which are collectively covered in a thick carapace. The six segments of the abdomen each bear a pair of pleopods, while the thoracic appendages are either walking legs or maxillipeds. The head segments bear various mouthparts and two pairs of antennae. The first antennae, or antennules, are held on a long flexible stalk, and are used for sensing the environment. The second antennae are the slipper lobsters' most conspicuous feature, as they are expanded and flattened into large plates that extend horizontally forward from the animal's head. [3]
There is considerable variation in size among species of slipper lobsters. The Mediterranean species Scyllarus pygmaeus is the smallest, growing to a maximum total length of 55 millimetres (2.2 in), and rarely more than 40 mm (1.6 in). [4] The largest species, Scyllarides haanii , may reach 50 centimetres (20 in) long. [5]
Slipper lobsters are typically bottom dwellers of the continental shelves, found at depths of up to 500 metres (1,600 ft). [6] Slipper lobsters eat a variety of molluscs, including limpets, mussels and oysters, [7] as well as crustaceans, polychaetes and echinoderms. [8] They grow slowly and live to a considerable age. They lack the giant neurones which allow other decapod crustaceans to perform tailflips, and must rely on other means to escape predator attack, such as burial in a substrate and reliance on the heavily armoured exoskeleton. [9]
The most significant predators of slipper lobsters are bony fish, with the grey triggerfish being the most significant predator of Scyllarides latus in the Mediterranean Sea. [7]
After hatching out of their eggs, young slipper lobsters pass through around ten instars as phyllosoma larvae — leaf-like, planktonic zoeae. [10] These ten or so stages last the greater part of a year, after which the larva moults into a "nisto" stage that lasts a few weeks. Almost nothing is known about the transition from this stage to the adults, which continue to grow through a series of moults. [3]
Although they are fished for wherever they are found, slipper lobsters have not been the subject of such intense fishery as spiny lobsters or true lobsters. [11] The methods used for catching slipper lobsters varies depending on the species' ecology. Those that prefer soft substrates, such as Thenus and Ibacus , are often caught by trawling, while those that prefer crevices, caves and reefs (including Scyllarides , Arctides and Parribacus species) are usually caught by scuba divers. [6]
The global catch of slipper lobsters was reported in 1991 to be 2,100 tonnes (2,100 long tons; 2,300 short tons). [12] More recently, annual production has been around 5,000 tonnes (4,900 long tons; 5,500 short tons), the majority of which is production of Thenus orientalis in Asia. [13]
A number of common names have been applied to the family Scyllaridae. The most common of these is "slipper lobster", [2] [6] followed by "shovel-nosed lobster" [14] and "locust lobster". "Spanish lobster" is used for members of the genus Arctides , [15] "mitten lobster" for Parribacus , [16] and "fan lobster" for Evibacus [17] and Ibacus . [18] In Australia, a number of species are called "bugs" (for example, the Balmain bug and Moreton Bay bug), especially those in the genus Ibacus . [19] Other names used in Australia include "bay lobster", "blind lobster", "flapjack", "flat lobster", "flying saucer", "gulf lobster", "mudbug", "sandbug", "shovel-nose bug", "shovelnose lobster", "crayfish", "slipper bug" and "squagga". [20] Rarer terms include "flathead lobster" (for Thenus orientalis ) [21] and "bulldozer lobster". [22] In Greece they may be known as Kolochtypes which roughly translates as 'bum hitter'. Twenty-two genera are recognised, [23] the majority of which were erected in 2002 by Lipke Holthuis for species formerly classified under Scyllarus : [24]
Slipper lobsters belong to the following genera.
Scyllarinae Latreille, 1825
| Arctidinae Holthuis, 1985
Ibacinae Holthuis, 1985
Theninae Holthuis, 1985
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Gallery of various slipper lobsters species:
The fossil record of slipper lobsters extends back 100–120 million years, which is considerably less than that of slipper lobsters' closest relatives, the spiny lobsters. One significant earlier fossil is Cancrinos claviger , which was described from Upper Jurassic sediments at least 142 million years ago, and may represent either an ancestor of modern slipper lobsters, [25] or the sister group to the family Scyllaridae sensu stricto . [22]
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.
Thenus orientalis is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Ibacus peronii, the Balmain bug or butterfly fan lobster, is a species of slipper lobster. It lives in shallow waters around Australia and is the subject of small-scale fishery. It is a flattened, reddish brown animal, up to 23 cm (9 in) long and 14 cm (6 in) wide, with flattened antennae and no claws.
Acanthacaris is a genus of deep-water lobsters. It contains two species, A. caeca and A. tenuimana, and is the only genus in the subfamily Neophoberinae.
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.
The phyllosoma is the larval stage of spiny and slipper lobster, and represents one of the most significant characteristics that unify them into the taxon Achelata. Its body is remarkably thin, flat, and transparent, with long legs.
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.
Parribacus is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing six species, all of which are used locally as human food sources.
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.
Galearctus avulsus is a species of slipper lobster that lives around New Caledonia. It was described in 2011, having previously been included in Galearctus kitanovirosus. It differs from the other species of the genus Galearctus most noticeably in the shape of a groove on the sternum.
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.
Scyllarides squammosus is a species of slipper lobster known as the blunt slipper lobster. It is found throughout the Indo-West Pacific region. Specifically its range is from Australia, Japan, Hawaii, Melanesia, New Caledonia to East Africa. Scyllarides squammosus has been found at depths from 7.5 m to 71 m.