FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1016 Lobsters
Panulirus homarus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications:
Panulirus dasypus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837);
P. burgeri (De Haan, 1841) / None.
FAO names: En - Scalloped spiny lobster;
Fr - Langouste festonée; Sp - Langosta
festoneada.
Diagnostic characters: Carapace rounded
and spiny, sometimes with branchiostegal
areas slightly inflated; rostrum absent;
anterior margin armed with 4 regularly
spaced large spines other than frontal horns;
height of frontal horns about 2 times the
eye height, without spinules in between.
Antennules with flagella longer than
peduncle, antennular plate at bases of
antennae bearing 2 pairs of well-separated
principal spines (anterior pair slightly
larger) and some spinules. First 4 pairs of
legs without pincers. Abdominal segments
with a slightly crenate transverse groove,
sometimes interrupted at the middle.
Posterior half of tail fan soft and flexible.
Colour: body greenish to brownish. Eyes
dark brown. Anterior carapace and region
between eyestalks with bright orange and
blue markings. Frontal horns banded with
black and white. Antennular flagella
alternated with brown and white bands.
Legs blotched. Abdomen covered with tiny
white spots. Pleopods red-brown. Eggs
orange.
Size: Maximum body length 31 cm,
commonly between 16 and 25 cm.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: In reef areas
with sand in the surf zone and sometimes also
in turbid waters at depths from 1 to 5 m, but
can be found down to a depth of 90 m.
Gregarious and nocturnal. The females produce 100 000 to 900 000 eggs per brood and hatching occurs
after 25 to 59 days. The phyllosoma larvae last 4 to 7 months and have 9 stages. The juveniles molt every
few weeks and become sexually mature after 2 to 3 years (carapace length 5 to 6 cm) after larval settlement.
In the fourth year the reproductive potential is highest (carapace length 7 to 7.9 cm). The adults molt about
4 times a year and the life span of this lobster is estimated to be 8 to 10 years. Actively fished throughout
its range by hand, with traps, gill nets, cast nets, and baited lines. Big catches are often possible after
typhoons or heavy rains. The fishery of this lobster is mostly local though it is exported in some areas such
as the Philippines and Indonesia (sometimes live) together with other species of the genus.
Distribution: Widely distributed
in the Indo-West Pacific
from the eastern coast of
Africa to Japan, Australia, and
the Marquesas Archipelago.