Palinurus mauritanicus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Palinurus mauritanicus |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Family: | Palinuridae |
| Genus: | Palinurus |
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P. mauritanicus
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| Binomial name | |
| Palinurus mauritanicus Gruvel, 1911
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| Synonyms | |
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The pink spiny lobster (scientific name: Palinurus mauritanicus) is a type of spiny lobster. You can find it living deep in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.
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What Does the Pink Spiny Lobster Look Like?
The pink spiny lobster looks a bit different from its cousin, Palinurus elephas. Its first pair of walking legs are thin, just like its other legs. Its hard outer shell, called a carapace, has two clear rows of spines pointing forward. The base part of its antennae is also quite thick.
These lobsters can live for a long time. Some pink spiny lobsters have been known to live for at least 21 years!
Where Do Pink Spiny Lobsters Live?
This lobster lives in the ocean from south-western Ireland all the way down to Senegal on the West African coast. It also lives in the western Mediterranean Sea, reaching as far east as Sicily. However, you won't find it in the Adriatic Sea.
The pink spiny lobster and Palinurus elephas are the only two types of spiny lobsters that live in both the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
They prefer to live on muddy or rocky parts of the ocean floor. They are often found at the edge of the continental shelf, which is where the land slopes down into the deep ocean. In Europe, they live in waters deeper than 200 meters (about 650 feet). Most of them are found at depths between 200 and 400 meters (about 650 to 1,300 feet). Male lobsters seem to prefer slightly shallower waters (above 250 meters), while females and younger lobsters are found in deeper areas.
What Do Pink Spiny Lobsters Eat?
The pink spiny lobster is a scavenger, meaning it eats dead things like fish. But it also hunts for its own food. Its diet includes live molluscs (like snails and clams), other crustaceans (like crabs), polychaetes (a type of worm), and echinoderms (like sea stars and sea urchins).
Pink Spiny Lobster Reproduction
Pink spiny lobsters usually breed between late summer and autumn. This happens shortly after the female sheds her old shell. A female lobster can carry a lot of eggs, sometimes up to 60,000!
After about three months, the eggs hatch into tiny planktonic larvae. These larvae are called phyllosoma larvae. They float in the water as part of the plankton. Scientists can tell these larvae apart from other lobster larvae because their fourth and fifth walking legs are already starting to form as small buds. Also, their third walking leg has a long, smooth part that helps them move.
Why Are Pink Spiny Lobsters Fished?
Pink spiny lobsters are not caught as often as other lobsters. This is because they live in deeper waters and are harder to find. The main place where they are fished is in the eastern central Atlantic, near Mauritania.
Even though they are harder to catch, they are very valuable. This high value has led to fewer pink spiny lobsters in the eastern central Atlantic due to overfishing.
