Lobster served with butter is undoubtedly a bright red delicacy.
American lobster (commonly known as Maine lobster) is one of the most popular seafood dishes and a fascinating animal with a complicated life. Lobsters have been described as aggressive, territorial and cannibalistic, but you might be surprised to learn that they are also known as "gentle lovers."
The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is one of about 75 species of lobster worldwide. The American lobster is a "clawed" lobster, as opposed to the "spiny" clawless lobster commonly found in warm waters. The American lobster is a well-known marine species that is easily recognizable from its two stout claws to its fan-shaped tail.
appearance
American lobsters are usually reddish-brown or green in color, but occasionally unusual colors include blue, yellow, orange, and even white. American lobsters can reach up to 3 feet in length and weigh up to 40 pounds.
Lobsters have a hard carapace. The shell does not grow, so the only way for a lobster to increase its size is to molt, which is a vulnerable period in which it "hides", "shrinks" and retreats from the shell, and then the new shell hardens in a few months. A very distinctive feature of the lobster is its strong tail, which can be used to propel itself backwards.
Lobsters are very aggressive animals and will compete with other lobsters for shelter, food, and mates. Lobsters are highly territorial, and in life, they establish a dominant hierarchy in the surrounding lobster communities.
classify
American lobsters belong to the phylum Arthropods, which means they are related to insects, shrimp, crabs, and barnacles. Arthropods have arthropods and hard exoskeletons (shells).
· Kingdom: Animal Kingdom
· Phylum: Arthropods
· Superclass: Crustacea
· Category: Mollusa
· Order: Decapoda
· Genus: Lobster
· Species: Americas
Feeding habits
Lobsters were once considered scavengers, but recent studies have shown that lobsters prefer live prey, including fish, crustaceans, and molluscs. Lobsters have two claws: a larger "crusher" claw and a smaller "ripper" claw (also known as cutter, pliers, or gripper claws). Males have larger paws than females of the same size.
Reproduction and life cycle
Mating occurs after the female molts. The lobster exhibits an intricate courtship/mating ritual in which the female chooses a male to mate with him and approaches his cave-like shelter, where she produces a pheromone and floats it in his direction.
Mating before the female's new shell hardens, the male and female perform a "boxing" ritual in which the female enters the male's lair and finally molts. For a detailed description of lobster mating rituals, see the Lobster Conservation Society or the Gulf of Maine Institute.
Before hatching the larvae, females carry 7,000 to 80,000 eggs on their abdomen for up to 9 to 11 months. The larvae have three planktonic stages, in which they appear on the surface of the water, after which they sink to the bottom where they spend the rest of their lives.
Lobsters reach adulthood after 5 to 8 years, but lobsters take about 6 to 7 years to reach their edible size of 1 pound. It is thought that American lobsters can live for 50 to 100 years or more.
Habitat and distribution
American lobster is found in the North Atlantic Ocean from Labrador, Canada, to North Carolina. Lobsters can be found in coastal areas and offshore along the continental shelf.
Some lobsters may migrate from offshore areas to summer and autumn offshore areas in winter and spring, while others are "longshore" migrators, moving up and down the coast. According to the University of New Hampshire, one of the immigrants traveled 3.5 nautical miles (398 miles) over a period of 458 years.
Lobster of the colony
Some say that early New Englanders did not want to eat lobster, even though "lobsters were so abundant in the waters that they literally crawled out of the sea and could only pile up on the beach in desolation." ”
Lobster is said to be considered a food only eaten by the poor. Apparently, New Englanders eventually became interested in it.
In addition to harvesting, lobsters are also threatened by contaminants in the water that accumulate in their tissues. Lobsters in densely populated coastal areas are also susceptible to shell rot or shell burns, causing black holes to burn out of their shells.
Coastal areas are important nursery areas for young lobsters, which may be affected as coastal development increases and population, pollution and sewage runoff increase.
Lobster and conservation today
Lobster's biggest natural predator is humans, and humans have regarded lobster as a luxury food for many years. Lobster farming has increased significantly over the past 50 years.
According to the Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Commission, lobster landings increased from 25 million pounds in the 1940s and 1950s to 88 million pounds in 2005. Lobster populations are considered stable in most parts of New England, but catches in southern New England have decreased.
Want to know the sex of the lobster you caught or about to eat? Here are a few ways to tell:
Lobster anatomy
Lobsters have feathery appendages under their tails, called swim feet. These nets help the lobsters swim and are also where the female lobsters lay their eggs. Swimming fish also gives you an idea of the sex of the lobster. The first pair of swimming feet (the one closest to the head) is just behind the walking legs, pointing towards the head. They are light and soft on females, but hard and skinny in males.
In addition, the female has a rectangular shield between the second pair of walking legs, which is used to store sperm after mating with the male. This is when the male inserts those hard places during mating, releasing the female's stored sperm. When it is time to release the eggs, they flow through the sperm and fertilize. Females store these eggs under the abdomen (tail) for 10 to 11 months.
Because they carry eggs, females tend to have wider tails than males. Female lobsters carrying fertilized eggs are not usually harvested, but you may find unfertilized eggs or eggs inside female lobsters. Lobster is green when fresh and bright red when cooked. (They are also called "corals" because of their color.) These can be eaten. Females can carry up to 80,000 eggs at a time.
Courtship ceremony
Despite its ferocious appearance, lobster has an intricate courtship ritual that is often described as "touching." Males and females mate after the females molt. Males live in burrows or nests, and as molting time approaches, females visit the nest and release urine through openings near the antennae, disseminating pheromones to males. The male slaps his swimboard hard.
After a few days, the female approaches the nest and examines the male. They eventually launch a simulated "boxing match" in which the females enter the nest. During molting, the female is fragile - she is very soft and takes at least half an hour to stand - so the male will protect her. At this point, the male flips the female onto her back and transfers the sperm envelope or seminal vesicle into the female's semen container. The female will hold her eggs until she is ready for them to fertilize.
Sex determination of spiny lobsters
Spiny lobsters (rock lobsters) are usually sold as tails, not live, so you may not have the opportunity to try your lobster sex determination skills at markets where spiny lobsters are sold. However, these lobsters can also use swimmers under their tails to distinguish between sexes.
In females, the goggles on one side may overlap with those on the other. You may also see a black spot with Azuhara at the base of her last pair of walking legs. Their fifth pair of walking legs may also have claw-shaped pincers at the end to help hold the eggs. Roe may be found in whole spiny lobsters.