Description: The lobster is a familiar crustacean to most people. In life they are blue in colour, with large claws, eight walking legs and a long body ending in a series of tail plates.

Habitat: Lobsters are most common in the infralittoral zone amongst boulders, but occur at all depths on rocky seabeds where they can find some shelter.

Distribution: A common species all round the coast, though in most areas numbers are seriously depleted by fishing.

Similar Species: The only other large crustacean with a similar shape is the crayfish Palinurus elephas.

Key Identification Features:

• Blue coloration.
• Two large claws, one a cutter and the other a crusher.

Distribution Map from NBN: Homarus gammarus at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Homarus gammarus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

WoRMS: Homarus gammarus at World Register of Marine Species. Accepted name: Homarus gammarus (Linnaeus, 1758). AphiaID: 107253.

Classification: Biota; Animalia; Arthropoda; Crustacea; Multicrustacea; Malacostraca; Eumalacostraca; Eucarida; Decapoda; Pleocyemata; Astacidea; Nephropoidea; Nephropidae; Homarus