East Coast Rock Lobster
Panulirus homarus
IDENTIFICATION TIPS 2
This lobster is found in the Indian and Western Pacific oceans from the East coast of Africa (including Madagascar) all the way to Queensland and New Caledonia. The overall coloration is variable depending on location, but it has banded antennules and faintly banded legs. The antennular plate has 4 evenly spaced spines of equal size, and it often has bright blue streaks on the face under the eyes and on the carapace. Each abdominal segment appears stippled and has a distinct white eyespot on each side. In at least one subspecies, there are crenulations present, giving the abdominal segment edges a scalloped look. Be careful not to confuse this with the heavy tail sculpturing of Jasus lalandii - both species may be found in South Africa but I do not believe they overlap (Jasus prefers cooler temps) - so exact location may help you with ID here.
-ks
Fontes e Créditos
- (c) Brian Gratwicke, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/36849591691/
- (c) Karen Sprague, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)
