Rock lobster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the animal. For the B-52's song, see Rock Lobster (song).
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| Jasus edwardsii (Hutton, 1875) |
The rock lobster or spiny rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii, (often called simply "crayfish") is a species of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia, and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. The commercial rock lobster fishery is New Zealand's third biggest seafood export earner. Spiny rock lobsters are carnivorous and live in and around reefs in depths ranging from 5 to 275 metres. They are dark red and orange above with paler yellowish abdomens.
Cuba is well known for their large rock lobsters, and are shipped mainly to Canada due to the embargos on the United States/Cuba importing and exporting. One half-pound tail will usually run at $15-30 USD.
The rock lobster has among the longest larval development known for any marine creature. The phyllosoma (Greek for leaf-like) larvae spend close to two years in oceanic waters before metamorphosing to the postlarval stage, known as the puerulus, which then swims towards the coast to settle.
