You might think lobsters mate for life, but they are far from romantic. We take a look at their strangest features and the love story myth
Words Sarah Griffiths
EUROPEAN LOBSTER
Homarus gammarus
Class Malacostraca
Territory Northeast and eastern Atlantic Ocean (from northern Norway to the Azores and Morocco), Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea
Diet Crabs, molluscs, sea urchins, starfish and polychaete worms
Lifespan Lobsters are thought to be able to reach up to 100 in the wild
Adult weight 4.5kg (10lb)
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
There are more than 70 species of lobster, and while the European lobster (Homarus gammarus) and American lobster (Homarus americanus) are well known, not least on restaurant menus, others, such as the marbled mitten lobster, are much rarer.
All lobsters share the fantastically strange attribute of being bilaterally symmetrical, meaning their organs are arranged in pairs so they are identical on each side of their body. European lobsters are usually blue on top and yellow underneath and only red after cooking. They live in holes or crevices on the continental shelf at depths of up to 150 metres (492 feet) and emerge at night to hunt. Naturally aggressive and covered in armour, common lobsters are armed with a large asymmetrical pair of claws, one of which is used for crushing and the other for cutting. As well as their intriguing physical features, the lobster’s behaviour is equally fascinating and its love life rather colourful.
Lobsters urinate from their faces
It’s part of the mating ritual
Lobsters wee from their faces. To be precise, they excrete urine from nephropores, or green glands, at the base of their antennae, close to their eyes. Liquid is squirted from a glandular sac that’s connected to the creature’s muscular bladder located under the brain via a coiled tube, and it can be sprayed an incredible seven body lengths ahead of them. They can eliminate waste via their gills, digestive glands and skin too.
As well as flushing toxins from the body, lobsters’ urine is rich in pheromones, which are used for communication, whether warding off rivals or seducing a mate. It’s thought females waft urine into the male’s den to relax him and get him in the mood before entering his home.
Lobsters don’t mate for life
In fact, they have multiple partners
An episode of Friends in which Phoebe gives relationship advice based on the behaviour of lobsters has given many people the idea that they fall in love and mate for life. In fact, their love lives are more complicated.
Female lobsters choose the most dominant male in their neighbourhood and make the first move by wafting pheromone-laced wee into his nest to tell him she’s a mate and not a rival, allowing her to safely check out his bachelor pad. Once inside, the pair ‘box’ using their claws and perhaps establish when
