FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

1026 Lobsters
Panulirus pascuensis Reed, 1954
En - Easter Island spiny lobster.
Total body length of adults between 15 and
25 cm. Lives on rocky substrate in shallow
waters to a depth of 50 m; breeding season
around December. Caught by divers during
both day and night by hand and spears, also
by gill nets and lobster pots. Sold fresh and
consumed locally. Only known from Easter
Island, Pitcairn Islands and Austral Islands of
French Polynesia.
Panulirus stimpsoni Holthuis, 1963
En - Chinese spiny lobster.
Maximum body length 35 cm, commonly
between 16 and 23 cm; maximum weight about
3 kg. Found in reef areas at depths of less than
40 m. Mainly distributed along the southern
coast of China, including Hong Kong, and the
western coast of Taiwan Province of China. In
the Western Central Pacific, only recently found
in the Gulf of Thailand where it is apparently
rare.
(after George and Holthuis, 1965)
(from Ho and Yu, 1979)