(Courtesy of Jerry Prezioso)
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Northern Lobster, American Lobster (Homarus americanus) These crustaceans are greenish-brown with patches of blue near the joints of appendages. They have one pair of powerful claws and 4 pairs of legs. Lobsters range from 10-12" (25-30 cm) in size for those that live near coastal waters, and the largest ones, about 24" (61 cm), dwell near the continental shelf. They live in burrows in the mud and under rocks. Lobsters are cannibals and scavengers, but also eat fish, small crustaceans, and mollusks. They are nocturnal and quite territorial, using their claws as weapons as well as tools to crush food. These slow-growing creatures take time to mature. A 1-2 pound lobster is four years old. They are most common in summer and migrate to deep waters in late fall. |