Lobsters of Southern Australia

True lobsters are entirely marine, have a thick, strong cylindrical or flattened carapace covering all of the head and thorax, and lack a prominent rostrum. In northern hemisphere species and in Australian freshwater yabbies the first pair of legs are big claws but none of the Australian marine lobsters have claws at all. In most forms the abdomen is strong and ends as a broad tail fan. This enables a quick reverse escape response by swimming. The Palinura are unique in passing their early larval stages as a pelagic phyllosoma larva. The phyllosoma is long-lived, almost two years in some palinurids, and is known to travel widely in oceanic currents from the shore environments where the adults live.

Feedback and queries should be sent to the Discovery Centre at Museum Victoria.
Please note, the Discovery Centre can help you only with questions about crustaceans from southeastern Australia. It can not advise on the care of pet hermit crabs or on crustaceans from other regions.