Arthropoda · arthropods

California spiny lobster

Panulirus interruptus

Palinuridae · spiny lobstersIUCN: Least Concern
California spiny lobster
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. DrKjaergaard assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A kelp-forest lobster whose predation keeps sea urchins in check.

Fun factBy eating urchins, it helps California kelp forests survive.

Waters
Eastern Pacific
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Coral reefs
Diet
Urchins, mussels & snails
Size
Up to 60 cm

Classification

Arthropoda › Malacostraca › Decapoda › Palinuridae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Ecdysozoa molting animals
    • Grow by shedding their outer layer (molting, ecdysis)
    • No cilia used for movement
    • Includes arthropods and nematode worms
  5. Phylum Arthropoda arthropods
    • Hard outer skeleton made of chitin (exoskeleton)
    • Jointed legs and a segmented body
    • The largest animal phylum by species count
  6. Subphylum Crustacea crustaceans
    • Two pairs of antennae
    • Branched (biramous) legs in many species
    • Most breathe with gills
  7. Class Malacostraca crabs, shrimp & kin
    • Body of a head, 8-segment thorax, and 6-segment abdomen
    • Includes crabs, shrimp, lobsters, krill, and isopods
  8. Order Decapoda ten-legged crustaceans
    • Ten walking legs, the first pair often with claws
    • Shell covers head and thorax together (carapace)
  9. Suborder Pleocyemata egg-brooding decapods
    • Females carry their eggs under the abdomen until they hatch
    • Includes true crabs, lobsters, and most shrimp
  10. Infraorder Achelata spiny & slipper lobsters
    • Spiny and slipper lobsters with no large claws
    • Larvae are flat and leaf-like (phyllosoma)
  11. Family Palinuridae spiny lobsters
    • Spiny lobsters: long, spiny antennae
    • Make sounds by rubbing the antennae
  12. Genus Panulirus
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  13. Species Panulirus interruptus California spiny lobster

Closest relatives in the guide