Biodiversity & Conservation

Common lobster - Homarus gammarus

Homarus gammarus

Image Keith Hiscock - Homarus gammarus, dorsal view. Image width ca 60 cm.
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Distribution map

Homarus gammarus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Homarus gammarus is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Arthropoda Arthropods, joint-legged animals, e.g. insects, crustaceans & spiders
Class Malacostraca Crabs, lobsters, sand hoppers and sea slaters
Authority Linnaeus, 1758
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland All British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information It is found on rocky substrata, living in holes and excavated tunnels from the lower shore to about 60 m depth.
Text page icon Description A large lobster that can grow up to one metre in length, but 50 cm is more common. It is blue-coloured above with coalescing spots and yellowish below. The first pair of walking legs carry massive (but slightly unequal) pincers which can be formidable and dangerous. The body lacks strong spines or ridges and is only slightly granular.
Identifying features
  • Large eyes, same width as eye stalks.
  • Spine-like antennal scale.
  • Rostrum rather short and spiny.
  • Strong gastro-orbital groove with, below it, the cervical groove.
  • Chelae large.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2008. Homarus gammarus. Common lobster. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 23/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3519>