Reproduction
During mating the male lobster transfers a packet of sperm to the female where it sticks and appears as a “tar spot” between the last legs. The eggs are laid through holes at the bases of the third pairs of legs and are attached to hairs on the swimmerets where the embryos develop until they hatch. As many as 600 000 eggs may be carried by a large adult female. The eggs of Australian marine lobsters hatch as a larva called a phyllosoma. The translucent flat phyllosoma lives in the plankton for up to 22 months. In the Western Australian species of rock lobster the phyllosoma passes through nine instars lasting 9-11 months and is transported by currents well into the Indian Ocean before moulting to a stage looking much like a translucent miniature adult. This stage swims across the continental shelf to settle in shallow inshore reef areas.

Ecology and Fisheries

The abdomen of the palinurids is large, muscular and edible. In Australia lucrative fisheries exist for the commonest species. Fishing is usually by the use of baited pots set from small boats close to shore. Because they are so commercially important much is known about the biology and fisheries of spiny lobsters. They inhabit shallow nearshore rocky or reef environments, rarely to 1000 metres depth. They are cryptic, hiding in rock crevices during the day and coming out at night to feed. Analyses of stomach contents tell us that they usually feed on small invertebrates and occasionally on algae.

Distribution

All lobsters are aquatic. The rock lobsters and their non-clawed relatives are marine but the clawed types, such as the Maine lobster and scampi, live in the sea while yabbies and freshwater crayfish live in rivers, lakes or burrow in swampy places.