Moreton Bay bug

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iMoreton Bay bug

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Scyllaridae
Genus:	Thenus
Species:	T. orientalis

Binomial name

Thenus orientalis
(Lund, 1793)

The Moreton Bay bug (Thenus orientalis), also known as the Bay lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found throughout the waters of Australia's north coast. It is a relatively expensive delicacy served in many restaurants in Queensland.

1 Distribution
2 Culinary uses
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] Distribution

Thenus orientalis has an Indo-west Pacific distribution, meaning that it is found in the Indian Ocean and western parts of the Pacific Ocean. The distribution stretches from the east coast of Africa to the Red Sea, southern Asia, China and Japan as well as the Philippines, Indonesia and the northern half of the coast of Australia, including Moreton Bay, from which it derives its common name.

Moreton Bay bug flesh prior to cooking.

[edit] Culinary uses

The flesh of the Moreton Bay bug is reported to be unusually versatile, and can be cooked in a variety of ways, both sweet and savoury.

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[edit] Further reading

Holthuis, L. B. (1946). Biological results of the Snellius Expedition XIV. The Decapoda Macrura of the Snellius Expedition. I. The Stenopodidae, Nephropsidae, Scyllaridae and Palinuridae. Temminckia 7: 1-177 11 pls [106].

Jones, C. M. (1990). Morphological characteristics of bay lobsters, Thenus species, Leach (Decapoda, Scyllaridae), from north-eastern Australia. Crustaceana 59 (3): 265-275.

Jones, C. M. (1993). Population structure of Thenus orientalis and T. indicus (Decapoda: Scyllaridae) in northeastern Australia. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 97 (2): 143-155.