denise
08-12-2008, 04:52 PM
Lobsters are 10 legged, carnivorous hard shelled creatures found in all the worlds oceans. The front pair of legs are specialized into unequal sized, specialized claws. Lobsters have a hard protective exoskeleton, composed of calcium and chitin. The exoskeleton provides protection for their soft body underneath, and also supports the body by forming joints which the muscles are attached to. Lobsters respire (breathe) using their gills in the water, but can survive for up to two hours out of the water.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Lobter1.jpg
Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, on hunt for food under cover of darkness, West Palm Beach
Lobsters live on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms, in crevices or burrows, and usually alone. A lobsters has poor vision, they mostly use their antennae as sensors. They are active hunters, eating a range of prey from fish, mollusks, crabs, shrimps, worms, and detritus. Lobsters grow slowly, and can live for more than 60 years! They move slowly by creeping around on the sea floor. However in times of danger, they are able to swim backwards quickly by curling and uncurling their tail, lobsters can reach speeds of 15 feet per second with this method.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spinylobsterrob_1.jpg
Spiny lobster emerging from cover, Pompano Beach
Photo by Robert Palmer
Lobster have two sets of paired antennae, used for touch, smell and taste. As water is more viscous than air, changes in chemicals are not picked up as readily as they should be, so lobsters are constantly sampling the chemicals in the water to determine their changing concentration.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/4/5/1/lobsterrobert_1.jpg
Close up of Spiny lobster, showing the main antennae.
Photo by Robert Palmer
As they move their antennae around, "old" water is replaced with new water and a new odor sample. Because lobsters have paired antennae, they can determine the direction of smells by comparing the difference in concentrations between the two antennae. Humans use a similar mechanism in air for distinguishing between different concentrations (noise levels) of the same signal to determine the direction of sounds.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/Lobter1.jpg
Spiny Lobster, Panulirus argus, on hunt for food under cover of darkness, West Palm Beach
Lobsters live on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms, in crevices or burrows, and usually alone. A lobsters has poor vision, they mostly use their antennae as sensors. They are active hunters, eating a range of prey from fish, mollusks, crabs, shrimps, worms, and detritus. Lobsters grow slowly, and can live for more than 60 years! They move slowly by creeping around on the sea floor. However in times of danger, they are able to swim backwards quickly by curling and uncurling their tail, lobsters can reach speeds of 15 feet per second with this method.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/spinylobsterrob_1.jpg
Spiny lobster emerging from cover, Pompano Beach
Photo by Robert Palmer
Lobster have two sets of paired antennae, used for touch, smell and taste. As water is more viscous than air, changes in chemicals are not picked up as readily as they should be, so lobsters are constantly sampling the chemicals in the water to determine their changing concentration.
http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/4/5/1/lobsterrobert_1.jpg
Close up of Spiny lobster, showing the main antennae.
Photo by Robert Palmer
As they move their antennae around, "old" water is replaced with new water and a new odor sample. Because lobsters have paired antennae, they can determine the direction of smells by comparing the difference in concentrations between the two antennae. Humans use a similar mechanism in air for distinguishing between different concentrations (noise levels) of the same signal to determine the direction of sounds.