Lobsters currently exist as a luxury delicacy in fine dining restaurants. However, their history reveals a transformation from "sea cockroaches" to high-status cuisine. Furthermore, these crustaceans possess some of the most bizarre biological traits in the animal kingdom. Consequently, they fascinate biologists just as much as they delight chefs. Explore these intriguing details about the bottom dwellers.
Lobsters
Bizarrely, lobsters urinate out of their faces. They possess nozzles just under their eyes to spray urine at each other. Consequently, they use this scent to communicate dominance and attract mates during fights.
Historically, servants rebelled against eating them. In colonial times, lobsters appeared so abundantly that people considered them poor quality food. Therefore, indentured servants included clauses in their contracts to limit lobster meals to three times a week.
Amazingly, they taste food with their legs. Small hairs on their feet and legs detect chemical signals in the water. Thus, they can identify prey simply by walking over it before they even pick it up.
Biologically, lobsters possess two separate stomachs. One stomach sits in the head and contains teeth to grind up food. Subsequently, the gastric mill moves the food to the second stomach for digestion.
Their blood appears blue when exposed to oxygen. Unlike humans who use iron, lobsters use copper-based hemocyanin to transport oxygen. As a result, their blood turns a clear blue color outside the body.
Theoretically, they show no signs of aging. They produce an enzyme called telomerase that repairs their DNA constantly. Therefore, they usually die from exhaustion during molting or predators rather than old age.
Typically, one claw grows larger than the other. They develop a heavy “crusher” claw to break shells and a sharp “pincher” claw to tear meat. Strategically, they can be either left-handed or right-handed depending on which claw becomes the crusher.
Periodically, they eat their own shell after molting. Growing a new shell requires massive amounts of calcium. Resourcefully, they consume the old exoskeleton to replenish their mineral levels quickly.
Exceedingly rarely, fishermen catch blue lobsters. A genetic mutation causes the shell to produce an excessive amount of a specific protein. Statistically, the odds of finding one stand at about one in two million.
When threatened, they swim backward rapidly. They curl and uncurl their strong tails to propel themselves away from danger. Effectively, this “tail flip” moves them faster than forward walking.
Legally, strict rules protect breeding females. If a lobsterman catches a female with eggs, he must notch her tail and release her. Consequently, this V-notch tells other fishermen to throw her back to ensure the population continues.
Internally, the stomach teeth make noise. Because they swallow food whole or in large chunks, the stomach must physically grind it down. Surprisingly, researchers can hear the growling sounds from this process underwater.
Unfortunately, they resort to cannibalism in crowded conditions. If food runs low or space becomes tight, they will eat each other. Thus, sellers must band their claws in tanks to prevent them from tearing each other apart.
Reproductively, the female strips to mate. She must shed her hard shell before she can reproduce. Vulnerably, she relies on the male to protect her while her new shell hardens.
Finally, the largest lobster ever caught weighed 44 pounds. Caught off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1977, this massive crustacean measured three and a half feet long. Ideally, it lived for close to one hundred years.
