Slipper lobsters are a family ( Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of Achelata , in the Decapoda clade Reptantia, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not lobster, but are more closely related to and . Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward from the head as wide plates. All the species of slipper lobsters are edible, and some, such as the Moreton Bay bug and the Balmain bug ( Ibacus peronii) are of commercial importance.
Description
Slipper lobsters have six
body segment in their heads and eight segments in the
thorax, which are collectively covered in a thick
carapace. The six segments of the
abdomen each bear a pair of
, while the thoracic
are either
pereiopod or
. The head segments bear various mouthparts and two pairs of antennae. The first antennae, or
antennules, are held on a long flexible stalk, and are used for sensing the environment. The second antennae are the slipper lobsters' most conspicuous feature, as they are expanded and flattened into large plates that extend horizontally forward from the animal's head.
There is considerable variation in size among species of slipper lobsters. The Mediterranean species Scyllarus pygmaeus is the smallest, growing to a maximum total length of , and rarely more than .
Ecology
Slipper lobsters are typically bottom dwellers of the continental shelves, found at depths of up to .
Slipper lobsters eat a variety of
Mollusca, including
,
and
,
as well as
,
and
.
They grow slowly and live to a considerable age. They lack the giant
which allow other decapod crustaceans to perform tailflips, and must rely on other means to escape
predator attack, such as burial in a substrate and reliance on the heavily armoured
exoskeleton.
The most significant of slipper lobsters are bony fish, with the grey triggerfish being the most significant predator of Scyllarides latus in the Mediterranean Sea.
Life cycle
After hatching out of their eggs, young slipper lobsters pass through around ten
as
phyllosoma — leaf-like,
.
These ten or so stages last the greater part of a year, after which the larva
ecdysis into a "nisto" stage that lasts a few weeks. Almost nothing is known about the transition from this stage to the adults, which continue to grow through a series of moults.
Commercial importance
Although they are fished for wherever they are found, slipper lobsters have not been the subject of such intense fishery as
or
lobster.
The methods used for catching slipper lobsters varies depending on the species' ecology. Those that prefer soft substrates, such as
Thenus and
Ibacus, are often caught by
trawling, while those that prefer crevices, caves and
(including
Scyllarides,
Arctides and
Parribacus species) are usually caught by
scuba diving.
The global catch of slipper lobsters was reported in 1991 to be .
Common names
A number of
have been applied to the family Scyllaridae. The most common of these is "slipper lobster",
followed by "shovel-nosed lobster"
and "locust lobster". "Spanish lobster" is used for members of the genus
Arctides,
"mitten lobster" for
Parribacus,
and "fan lobster" for
Evibacus and
Ibacus.
In Australia, a number of species are called "bugs" (for example, the
Ibacus peronii and Moreton Bay bug), especially those in the genus
Ibacus.
Other names used in Australia include "bay lobster", "blind lobster", "flapjack", "flat lobster", "flying saucer", "gulf lobster", "mudbug", "sandbug", "shovel-nose bug", "shovelnose lobster", "crayfish", "slipper bug" and "squagga".
Rarer terms include "flathead lobster" (for
Thenus orientalis)
and "bulldozer lobster".
In Greece they may be known as Kolochtypes which roughly translates as 'bum hitter'. Twenty-two genera are recognised,
the majority of which were erected in 2002 by
Lipke Holthuis for species formerly classified under
Scyllarus:
Genera
Slipper lobsters belong to the following genera.
Scyllarinae Latreille, 1825
-
Acantharctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Antarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Antipodarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Bathyarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Biarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Chelarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Crenarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Eduarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Galearctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Gibbularctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Petrarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Remiarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Scammarctus Holthuis, 2002
-
Scyllarella Rathbun, 1935 (extinct)
-
Scyllarus Fabricius, 1775
Arctidinae Holthuis, 1985
Ibacinae Holthuis, 1985
Theninae Holthuis, 1985
Gallery
Gallery of various slipper lobsters species:
Image:Arctides antipodum.jpg| Arctides antipodum
Image:Ibacus ciliatus - National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo - DSC07560.JPG| Ibacus ciliatus
Image:Parribacus-antarcticus2-National-Zoo-2010.jpg| Parribacus antarcticus
Image:Cooked whole Moreton Bay Bug.JPG| Thenus orientalis (cooked)
Fossil record
The
fossil record of slipper lobsters extends back 100–120 million years, which is considerably less than that of slipper lobsters' closest relatives, the
. One significant earlier fossil is
Cancrinos claviger, which was described from
Upper Jurassic sediments at least , and may represent either an
ancestor of modern slipper lobsters,
or the
sister group to the family Scyllaridae
sensu stricto.
Further reading
External links
