Lobster (common, European)

From growing limbs to having a preferred 'hand', there's lots to learn about the common lobster.

What do they look like?

The common lobster is actually a beautiful blue colour - never pink! They have long red antennae and pale yellow markings.

Their two powerful claws are very different in shape and size. A "crusher" claw for breaking shells, and a "pincer" for cutting and holding their food. Interestingly, they can be right or left “handed”.

Where can they be found?

Can be a lucky spot at a very low tide, more active in darkness than daylight. Hides out in crevices during the day.

Did you know... Lobsters actually have four antennae. A larger, longer pair used for touch and navigation, as well as a short pair (antennules) covered in fine hairs, crucial for smelling (detecting chemical signals).

Key facts

Female lobsters carry between 5,000 - 40,000 fertilised eggs on their legs for around 12 months, to protect them from predators before they hatch.

Common lobsters also have a very special ability - they can regrow missing limbs!

IUCN status	Least Concern
Length	25-35cm
Weight	1-2kg
Speed and distance	European lobsters primarily move by crawling along the seafloor as they slowly forage, but they can also perform a rapid backward jet by powerfully flexing their muscular tails (abdomen) to escape predators. They can also use their swimmerets (the small appendages under their abdomens) for finer underwater control, such as when females are carrying eggs.
Diet	Common lobsters are scavengers, meaning they’re not fussy and feed on whatever they can find on the ocean floor. This includes dead fish, crabs, and other small animals.
Habitat	Rocky shore, lower shore, subtidal, seabed, rock pools
Age lifespan	Small but mighty, the common lobster is slow growing, and can live a surprisingly long time of 45 to 50 years. Amazingly, the oldest common lobster on record was over 1m long and predicted to be around 80 years old!