Palinurus elephas

Palinurus elephas is a commonly caught species of spiny lobster from the East Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its common names include European spiny lobster,[2] crayfish or cray (in Ireland), crawfish (in England), common spiny lobster,[3] Mediterranean lobster[4] and red lobster.[5][6]

Palinurus elephas
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Family: Palinuridae
Genus: Palinurus
Species:
P. elephas
Binomial name
Palinurus elephas
(Fabricius, 1787)
Synonyms

Distribution and habitat

Palinurus elephas is a common species of spiny lobster, found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Morocco and the Azores,[7] and in the Mediterranean Sea, except its eastern extremes.[3] It lives on rocky exposed coasts below the intertidal zone,[2] mainly at depths of 20 to 70 metres (66 to 230 ft). It is named after the ancient Roman Tyrrhenian sea port of Palinurus (modern day Palinuro, Campania, Italy) where they are found in abundance off its promontory.

Description

P. elephas may reach up to 60 cm (24 in) long,[2] although rarely longer than 40 cm (16 in),[3] and usually 25–30 cm (10–12 in).[8] Few achieve their maximum weight of several kilograms.[7]

The adults are reddish-brown with yellow spots. The carapace is slightly compressed and lacks lateral ridges. It is covered with forward pointing spines, with the supraorbital spines prominent. The antennae are very heavy and spiny, are tapering and even longer than the body. The first walking leg (pereopod) is provided with subchela (the distal end of a limb developed as a prehensile structure). The fourth segment (merus) of this leg has a characteristic row of spines.[8]

Reproduction

The breeding season is in September and October, with the female brooding the reddish eggs. These eggs hatch about six months later in the spring as flattened, leaf-shaped, planktonic larvae (phyllosoma larvae).[7][8] P. elephas goes through ten phyllosoma stages and a puerulus stage before adulthood.[9]

Diet

It is nocturnal and feeds on small worms, crabs or dead animals, hiding in rock crevices or caves during the day.[4]

Uses

It is a much sought-after delicacy and is widely caught for food around the Mediterranean Sea, mostly with lobster pots, and is also caught less intensively off the Atlantic Coasts of Ireland, Portugal, France and England.[3] There are also small fisheries for this species on the west coast of Scotland, employing tangle nets or lobster pots.

References
  1. Goñi, Raquel (2014). "Palinurus elephas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T169975A1281221.
  2. A. Jackson & C. Marshall (January 29, 2007). "European spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas: basic information". Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2007.
  3. Lipke B. Holthuis (1991). "Palinurus elephas". FAO Species Catalogue, Volume 13. Marine Lobsters of the World. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. 119–120. ISBN 92-5-103027-8. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
  4. "Palinurus elephas (Mediterranean lobster)". Malawi Cichlid Homepage. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  5. "Exploitation models of the red lobster Palinurus elephas in the Mediterranean fisheries of Spain and Tunisia". FAO COPEMED. Food and Agriculture Organization. May 31, 2005. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  6. Driver, P. A. (1975). The crawfish Palinurus elephas, Fabr.; Its Biology and Fishery in British Waters (Ph.D. Thesis). Portsmouth Polytechnic.
  7. Peter Hayward, Tony Nelson-Smith & Chris Shields (1996). Sea Shore of Britain and Europe. Collins Pocket Guides. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-219955-6.
  8. P. J. Hayward; M. J. Isaac; P. Makings; J. Moyse; E. Naylor; G. Smaldon (1996). "Crustaceans (Phylum Crustacea)". In P. J. Hayward; J. S. Ryland (eds.). Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 289–461. ISBN 0-19-854055-8.
  9. Bouvier, M. E.-L. (1914). "Recherches sur le développement post-embryonnaire de la langouste commune (Palinurus vulgaris)" (PDF). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 10 (2): 179–193. doi:10.1017/S0025315400007700. S2CID 85220945.
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