California spiny lobster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids California spiny lobster |
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| Range of Panulirus interruptus: main areas in red; peripheral areas in darker red | |
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Palinurus interruptus J. W. Randall, 1840 |
The California spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) is a type of spiny lobster. You can find it in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its home stretches from Monterey Bay, California, all the way down to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico.
These lobsters usually grow to about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long. They are reddish-brown with stripes on their legs. They have two big antennae but no large claws, unlike other lobsters. A cool fact about them is the special "interrupted" grooves on their tail. This helps scientists identify them!
Female lobsters can carry up to 680,000 eggs. These eggs hatch after about 10 weeks. The babies are tiny, flat larvae called phyllosoma. They float around and eat small ocean creatures called plankton. Later, they change into young lobsters. Adult spiny lobsters are active at night and move around a lot. They live among rocks, sometimes as deep as 65 meters (213 feet). They love to eat sea urchins, clams, mussels, and worms. Many animals, like fish, octopuses, and sea otters, eat spiny lobsters. But the lobsters can make a loud noise with their antennae to scare predators away! People in Mexico and the United States catch California spiny lobsters for food and fun.
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What Does a California Spiny Lobster Look Like?
Like all spiny lobsters, the California spiny lobster has two long, spiky antennae. But they don't have the big claws you might see on other lobsters. This species is one of the biggest spiny lobsters. It can grow up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) long, but usually stays around 30 centimeters (1 foot). Male lobsters can weigh up to 7.4 kilograms (16 pounds). The biggest one ever caught was 16 pounds, 1 ounce, near Catalina Island in 1968!
Their top side is brownish-red. They don't have the lighter bands or spots that some other spiny lobsters have. Their legs are a similar color, but they often have lighter stripes along them.
You can tell male and female lobsters apart by looking at their bodies. Females have two small openings near their third pair of legs. Males have these openings near their fifth (last) pair of legs, closer to their tail. Adult females also have a tiny claw on their fifth leg and larger pleopods (small leg-like parts under their tail).
Where Do California Spiny Lobsters Live?
The California spiny lobster lives in parts of the Gulf of California. They also live along the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula. Their range goes as far north as San Luis Obispo Bay, California. Sometimes, they are seen in Monterey Bay. However, the water there is too cold for them to have babies. Scientists think any adults found there floated north as larvae during El Niño years.
These lobsters like to live on rocky areas. They can be found in waters up to 65 meters (213 feet) deep. While adults can be in shallow areas, like tide pools, they are more common in deeper water. Young lobsters usually live in rocky spots that are 0 to 4 meters (0 to 13 feet) deep. They like places with lots of plants, especially a type of surf grass called Phyllospadix torreyi.
How Do Spiny Lobsters Live and Behave?
California spiny lobsters are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. During the day, they hide in rocky cracks. Only the tips of their long antennae show, helping them avoid predators. As dawn approaches, they gather in groups and stay together until dusk. At night, they come out to find food. They eat sea urchins, clams, mussels, and worms. By eating sea urchins, they help keep the ocean floor healthy.
Many animals hunt California spiny lobsters. These include fish like the California sheephead, giant sea bass, and cabezone. Sharks, octopuses, and sea otters also prey on them. If a predator gets too close, spiny lobsters can make a loud noise. They do this by rubbing a part of their antennae over a special "file" on their head. If a predator is very close, they will quickly flex their strong tail. This helps them shoot backwards and escape!
These lobsters also make an annual migration. In spring and summer, they move into shallower water. In fall and winter, they head to deeper water, sometimes as deep as 240 feet (73 meters). They might do this to avoid strong winter storms.
What is the Life Cycle of a Spiny Lobster?
Female California spiny lobsters are ready to have babies when they are about 65–69 millimeters (2.5–2.7 inches) long. This usually happens when they are 5–9 years old. Males become ready to mate earlier, at 3–6 years old. It's hard to know exactly how long lobsters live because they shed their hard shells as they grow. But scientists think they can live for 50 years or even more!
After mating, the female carries the fertilized eggs under her tail, attached to her pleopods. A single female can carry between 120,000 and 680,000 eggs! The eggs start out coral red and turn dark maroon as they grow. When a female is carrying eggs, she is called "berried." The eggs are ready to hatch after 10 weeks. Spawning, or egg-laying, happens from May to August.
The babies that hatch are called phyllosoma larvae. They look nothing like adult lobsters! They are flat, clear, and about 14 millimeters (0.5 inches) long. They are as thin as a piece of paper. These larvae eat plankton and grow through ten different stages. Each stage involves shedding their skin. This whole larval process takes about 7 months. After the last larval stage, they change into a puerulus state. This is the final larval stage, and they are still clear. The puerulus larvae settle onto the sea floor when the water is warmest, usually in the fall in Baja California.
Young lobsters eat many different things. They mostly eat small crustaceans called amphipods and isopods. They also eat coralline algae and the plant Phyllospadix. If they can find them, young lobsters prefer to eat crabs.
Catching California Spiny Lobsters
When John Witt Randall first described the California spiny lobster in 1840, he noted that local people in California ate them. Today, the California spiny lobster is the most important lobster for fishing on the American West Coast. People who fish for fun, called sport fishermen, might catch up to half of all lobsters. Most commercial fishermen use special lobster traps. Some also use trammel nets or trawling. The main fishing area is west of Baja California. The United States imports twice as many lobsters from Mexico as it catches in California.
Sport Fishing for Lobsters in California
People who fish for fun can catch lobsters using hoop nets. They can also catch them by SCUBA diving or free-diving. Almost all of these lobsters are caught in California. The California Department of Fish and Game says that sport fishermen caught over 200,000 spiny lobsters in the first half of the 2008/2009 season. This was about 280,000 pounds! Commercial fishermen caught even more, around 580,000 pounds, in the same time.
The California Department of Fish and Game has rules for catching spiny lobsters for fun:
- The open season for spiny lobsters runs from the Saturday before the first Wednesday in October. It ends on the first Wednesday after March 15.
- You can only use hoop nets. No one person can have more than 5 nets. A boat can use no more than 10 hoop nets. If you are fishing from land, you can only use two hoop nets.
- You can't catch more than seven California spiny lobsters in one day. You also can't have more than seven in your possession at any time.
- You must carry a lobster gauge. Any lobster smaller than the minimum size must go back into the sea right away. The minimum size is a carapace length of 3 1/4 inches (8.25 cm). This is measured from the back of the eye socket to the end of the shell. This is about 20 centimeters (8 inches) long in total.
- If you fish south of Point Arguello, you need a sport fishing license with an ocean enhancement stamp. You must show it or keep it nearby.
- You must buy a report card for the season. You need to fill it out and send it back by April 30 after the season ends.
- You must not bother commercial or recreational lobster traps.
Commercial Lobster Fishing in California
The season for commercial fishing starts on the first Wednesday in October. It runs until the first Wednesday after March 15. Commercial fishermen can use their own buoyed traps. They are not allowed to dive for lobsters.
At the start of the season in California, fishermen work very hard. As the 24-week season goes on, they catch fewer lobsters. Even though they learn where the lobsters are, they still catch less over time.
Lobster Fishing in Mexico
In Mexico, spiny lobsters are a very important resource. They are the fifth most valuable fishery, worth about US$18 million. Three types of spiny lobsters are caught along the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula. But the California spiny lobster makes up 95%–97% of the total catch. Only small amounts of Panulirus inflatus and Panulirus gracilis are caught. Local fishing groups, called co-operatives, hold the rights to fish for them.
Mexico has rules for catching California spiny lobsters:
- The minimum size is 82.5 millimeters (3.25 inches).
- It is against the rules to catch females carrying eggs.
- There is a closed season. From February 16 to September 14, fishing for spiny lobsters is not allowed. This closed area moves south along Mexico's Pacific coast during the season.
The Mexican fishery for the California spiny lobster was the first in Latin America to get an ecolabel for sustainable fishing. This means they fish in a way that protects the lobsters for the future. Because of this, the species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
What Are Its Names?
The Food and Agriculture Organization calls Panulirus interruptus the California spiny lobster. But it has other names too! In the United States, people might call it the California lobster, California marine crayfish, or red lobster. In Mexico, it's called langosta colorada or langosta roja. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service simply calls it spiny lobster.
John Witt Randall first described this species in 1840. He found it in "Upper California," likely near Santa Barbara or San Diego. The scientific name interruptus refers to the grooves on its abdominal segments. These grooves are "interrupted," meaning they don't go all the way across the body segment.
Related Spiny Lobsters
The California spiny lobster's closest relatives are not other species found nearby. Instead, they are species like Panulirus argus from the Caribbean Sea. They are also related to species from the West Pacific like Panulirus japonicus. Scientists figured this out by studying how they look and by looking at their DNA.
You can tell the California spiny lobster apart from other species in its group. It has those special interrupted grooves across its abdomen. Other spiny lobsters either don't have grooves or their grooves go all the way across each body segment.
See also
In Spanish: Langosta roja de California para niños
