The California Spiny Lobster

In a crowd of divers, there are a handful of animals that when mentioned in conversation will cause everyone else to stop talking and start listening. Whale, shark, dolphin, and manta ray are a few of the words that command our attention. The word lobster often causes a similar response in some “bug hunting” California divers, especially in the fall and winter when California lobsters of legal size are fair game. A highly sought-after species that deserves our respect and protection, this crustacean leads a fascinating life.

DESCRIPTION

With the average length of a mature specimen being close to 12 inches, the California spiny lobster is one of the larger species of spiny lobsters. That said, these reef residents grow to a length of two feet and weigh as much as 26 pounds. As is the case with all spiny lobsters, the California spiny lobster has a pair of long, spine-covered antennae that are used in a whip-like manner for defense as well as two shorter, antennaelike looking appendages called antennules that are used for sensory perception. The segmented, hard, bump-covered exoskeleton is reddish brown with yellowish orange stripes running the length of their 10 legs.

Males and females can be distinguished from one another by noting the position of their two round genital openings known as gonopores. The openings are located at the bases of the third pair of legs (pereiopods) in females. In males, the openings are at the bases of the fifth pair of legs, those appendages that are farthest from the head and closest to the abdomen. Mature females possess a small claw on their fifth pair of legs. Females have feathery looking appendages called swimmerets (aka pleopods) underneath their tail. As their name suggests, swimmerets assist in swimming and for brooding eggs.

RANGE AND HABITAT OF CALIFORNIA SPINY LOBSTER

California spiny lobsters inhabit reefs from Point Arguello in Santa Barbara County, California southward along the entire length of Mexico’s Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. There are some records of California spiny lobsters from Monterey Bay, but the water in that area is too cold to support a breeding population. Some specialists suspect that larval animals were carried into Monterey Bay by warm currents during El Niño years.

California spiny lobsters live in areas where the bottom is rocky and filled with crevices, ledges, cracks, and caves. These tasty crustaceans are sometimes found in tide pools and at other times, they venture as deep as 240 feet. Adults tend to prefer deeper areas while juveniles are often found from the surface to a depth of 15 feet in areas with rocky reef that is covered by surf grass.