Palinurus elephas
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| Palinurus elephas Fabricius, 1787 |
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Palinurus vulgaris Latreille, 1803 |
Palinurus elephas is a spiny lobster which is commonly caught in the Mediterranean Sea. Its common names include European spiny lobster [1], common spiny lobster [2], Mediterranean lobster [3] and red lobster [4].
P. elephas may reach up to 60 cm long [1] (although rarely longer than 40 cm [5]), and is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Morocco, and in the Mediterranean Sea, except its eastern extremes [2]. It lives on rocky exposed coasts below the tidal zone [1]. It is nocturnal and feeds on small worms, crabs or dead animals, hidings in rock crevices or caves in the day-time [3].
It is widely caught for food around the Mediterranean Sea, mostly with lobster pots, and is also caught less intensively off the Atlantic Coasts of Portugal, France and England [2].
[edit] References
- ^ a b c A. Jackson & C. Marshall (2007-01-09). European spiny lobster, Palinurus elephas: basic information. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme.
- ^ a b c Lipke Holthuis (1991). FAO species catalogue Vol. 13: Marine lobsters of the world.. FAO.
- ^ a b Palinurus elephas (Mediterranean lobster).
- ^ Exploitation models of the red lobster Palinurus elephas in the Mediterranean fisheries of Spain and Tunisia (2005-05-31).
- ^
