Wildlife Fact Sheet

There’s much more to lobsters than a fancy dinner entree! Known for their flashy claws and tasty meat, American lobsters make up a huge industry with millions of pounds harvested every year. Lobsters are in the subphylum Crustacea, which also includes crabs, shrimp, crayfish and krill. They are invertebrates, meaning they don’t have a spine, and instead rely on their tough outer shell for protection and stability. Once a lobster gets too big for its shell, it will shed and grow a new one in a process called molting. They must be very careful in the months they’re waiting for the new shell to grow because they are more susceptible to predators during that time. They must watch out for other lobsters, too—they can be territorial and will fight each other to establish dominance.

Lobsters have intriguing mating habits. A female will excrete a type of chemical called a pheromone to let male lobsters know she’s ready to pick a suitor, typically the alpha male of the community. Then, she will enter the male’s den and participate in “lobster boxing” (yup, it’s exactly what it sounds like). Then, after the female molts, she’s ready to mate. She’ll stay in her mate’s cave until her shell grows back, then off she goes! Females will produce thousands of eggs at once and keep them tucked away under their tails for up to a year!