KML species - Spiny Lobster - Alex F

 

Spiny Lobster

Panulirus argus

       The Caribbean spiny lobster is a common crustacean found in the Florida Keys. They are an important bottom feeder and remover of detritus in the waters of the South Atlantic. The large lobster serves as an crucial animal in the middle of the food chain and a recognizable icon for the Florida Keys as a whole.

    Spiny lobsters are actually a genus of 60 species with diverse morphologies, but in our field exercises in the keys we saw the Panulirus argus. The Caribbean spiny lobster grows to an average length of 20 cm with reddish-brown and cream colored patterns on their thorax and abdomen respectively. They are also distinct from other lobsters by their lack of any prominent claws on their anterior legs. As well the spiny lobster sports two pairs of antennae with the second pair being half of their total body length. These antennae were often the first sign of a spiny lobster in the field as they like to find hiding locations in the daytime.

    Spiny lobsters were especially common in our field activities because they favor locations that offer cover such as mangroves and reefs. These lobsters are more active at night and seek safe locations to hide between nights on the benthos. At Old Sweat Bank, dozens of spiny lobsters could be seen bunkering in the soft sediment in relatively shallow water. They generally stay at these shallower ranges except for the vertical migration of females for spawning. 

    The species are opportunistic feeders who sometimes eat mollusks like the gastropods we saw at the same locations, but often eat detritus and scavenge carcasses. In the Keys, spiny lobsters experience predation from nurse sharks, and larger groupers and snappers. Spiny lobster are a good representation of the food chain in the Keys as we saw many examples of their prey and their predators at every location we visited in our time in the Keys.

    It cannot be stressed enough how important the spiny lobster is for the Keys fisheries. P. argus is easily the most commercially harvested and eaten of its taxa in the U.S. and is only comparable to the shrimp fisheries in terms of value here in the Keys. I ate spiny lobster on Sunday when we first arrived and I definitely understand the attraction. It is no wonder why the spiny lobster is one of the most iconic animals in the Florida Keys among a gallery of other appealing sea life. The spiny lobster is serving the needs of the Florida Keys above and below water.