Alternate name: New England Lobster

Category: Crabs and Shrimp view all from this category

Description 34" (86 cm) long, 9" (23 cm) high. Long, cylindrical, with large pincers. Greenish-black above, paler underneath; appendages and beak tipped with red. Rarely yellow or blue. Carapace cylindrical. Beak pointed, with 3 teeth on upper side, 1 behind level of eyestalk. 1st pair of antennae short, branch of second pair of antennae longer than body. First 3 pairs of walking legs with pincers, 1st pair of walking legs greatly enlarged, not alike. One, usually left, heavier, blunt, with rounded teeth; other, usually right, less heavy, sharp, pointed; abdomen somewhat flattened. First 2 pairs of swimmerets of male modified for copulation.

Warning This lobster can deliver a painful pinch with either of its large front pincers.

Habitat On rock bottoms, both in bays and open ocean; from near shoreline to continental shelf.

Range Labrador to Virginia.

Discussion The lobster's two dissimilar pincers serve different purposes. The heavier one, or "crusher," is designed to crack hard objects like snails and bivalves. The sharper one, the "cutter," is used for tearing apart the prey, carrion, or plant material on which the animal feeds.