Slipper lobsters are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

(Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, in the

Decapoda The Decapoda or decapods (literally "ten-footed") are an order of crustaceans within the class Malacostraca, including many familiar groups, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp and prawns. Most decapods are scavengers. The order is esti ...

clade

Reptantia Reptantia is a clade of decapod crustaceans named in 1880 which includes lobsters, crabs and many other well-known crustaceans. Classification In older classifications, Reptantia was one of the two sub-orders of Decapoda alongside Natantia, wi ...

, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to

spiny lobster Spiny lobsters, also known as langustas, langouste, or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, So ...

s and

furry lobster Furry lobsters (sometimes called coral lobsters) are small decapod crustaceans, closely related to the slipper lobsters and spiny lobsters. The antennae are not as enlarged as in spiny and slipper lobsters, and the body is covered in short hai ...

s. 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 ''Thenus orientalis'' is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. ''T. orientalis'' is known by a number of common names. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization prefers the na ...

and the Balmain bug (''

Ibacus peronii ''Ibacus peronii'', the Balmain bug or butterfly fan lobster, is a species of slipper lobster. It lives in shallow waters around Australia and is the subject of small-scale fishery. It is a flattened, reddish brown animal, up to long and wid ...

'') are of commercial importance.

Description

Slipper lobsters have six segments in their heads and eight segments in the

thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...

, which are collectively covered in a thick

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

. The six segments of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

each bear a pair of

pleopod The decapod ( crustaceans such as a crab, lobster, shrimp or prawn) is made up of 20 body segments grouped into two main body parts: the cephalothorax and the pleon (abdomen). Each segment may possess one pair of appendages, although in various ...

s, while the thoracic

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including anten ...

s are either walking legs or

maxilliped An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including anten ...

s. 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 The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

species ''

Scyllarus pygmaeus ''Scyllarus pygmaeus'' is a species of slipper lobster that lives in shallow water in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It grows to a length of , which is too small for it to be fished for. The juvenile form was first described ...

'' is the smallest, growing to a maximum total length of , and rarely more than . The largest species, ''

Scyllarides haanii ''Scyllarides haanii'', the Aesop slipper lobster, is a marine decapod crustean in the family Scyllaridae. Other common names include the humpbacked slipper lobster and the ridgeback slipper lobster. Description ''Scyllarides haanii'' can gro ...

'', may reach long.

Ecology

Slipper lobsters are typically bottom dwellers of the

continental shelves A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

, found at depths of up to . Slipper lobsters eat a variety of

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil sp ...

, including

limpet Limpets are a group of aquatic snails that exhibit a conical shell shape (patelliform) and a strong, muscular foot. Limpets are members of the class Gastropoda, but are polyphyletic, meaning the various groups called "limpets" descended indep ...

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

s and

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

s, as well as

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...

s and

echinoderm An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea ...

s. They grow slowly and live to a considerable age. They lack the giant

neurone A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. No ...

s which allow other decapod crustaceans to perform tailflips, and must rely on other means to escape

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

attack, such as burial in a substrate and reliance on the heavily

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

. The most significant

s of slipper lobsters are

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

, with the

grey triggerfish The grey triggerfish (''Balistes capriscus''), or gray triggerfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlan ...

being the most significant predator of ''

Scyllarides latus ''Scyllarides latus'', the Mediterranean slipper lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is edible and highly regarded as food, but is now rare over much of its range due to ...

'' in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Life cycle

After hatching out of their

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, young slipper lobsters pass through around ten

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s as

phyllosoma The phyllosoma is the larval stage of spiny, slipper and coral lobsters (Palinuridae, Scyllaridae and Synaxidae), and represents one of the most significant characteristics that unify them into the taxon Achelata. Its body is remarkably thin ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e — leaf-like,

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

zoea Crustaceans may pass through a number of larval and immature stages between hatching from their eggs and reaching their adult form. Each of the stages is separated by a moult, in which the hard exoskeleton is shed to allow the animal to grow. The ...

e. These ten or so stages last the greater part of a year, after which the larva moults 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

s or

true lobsters True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

. The methods used for catching slipper lobsters varies depending on the species' ecology. Those that prefer soft substrates, such as ''

Thenus ''Thenus orientalis'' is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian and Pacific oceans. ''T. orientalis'' is known by a number of common names. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization prefers the name flathead lobster, while ...

'' and ''

Ibacus ''Ibacus'' is a genus of slipper lobsters, including commercially important species such as the Balmain bug Balmain may refer to: Places * Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral divi ...

'', are often caught by

trawling Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spec ...

, while those that prefer crevices, caves and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s (including ''

Scyllarides ''Scyllarides'' is a genus of slipper lobsters. Characteristics ''Scyllarides'' is placed in the subfamily Arctidinae, which is differentiated from other subfamilies by the presence of multiarticulated exopods on all three maxillipeds, and a ...

'', ''

Arctides ''Arctides'' is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing three species. The largest of these, '' A. antipodarum'', has a carapace up to long, and is found off south-eastern Australia and parts of New Zealand. The other two species are smaller, a ...

'' and ''

Parribacus ''Parribacus'' is a genus of slipper lobster Slipper lobsters are a family (Scyllaridae) of about 90 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda clade Reptantia, found in all warm oceans and seas. They are not true lobsters, but are mo ...

'' species) are usually caught by

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

. The global catch of slipper lobsters was reported in 1991 to be . More recently, annual production has been around , the majority of which is production of ''

Thenus orientalis ''Thenus orientalis'' is a species of slipper lobster from the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. ''T. orientalis'' is known by a number of common names. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization prefers the na ...

'' in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Common names

A number of

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s 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 ''

'', "mitten lobster" for ''

'', and "fan lobster" for '' Evibacus'' and ''

''. In Australia, a number of species are called "bugs" (for example, the

Balmain bug Balmain may refer to: Places * Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia * Balmain East, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia * Balmain Ho ...

and

), especially those in the genus ''

''. 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 ''

'') 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 Lipke Bijdeley Holthuis (21 April 1921 – 7 March 2008) was a Dutch crustacean, carcinologist, considered one of the "undisputed greats" of carcinology, and "the greatest carcinologist of our time". Holthuis was born in Probolinggo, East Java a ...

for species formerly classified under ''

Scyllarus ''Scyllarus'' is a genus of slipper lobsters from the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean and Caribbean. Until 2002, the genus included far more species, but these are now placed in other genera. The following species remain in ''Scylla ...

'':

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) *''

'' Fabricius, 1775 Arctidinae Holthuis, 1985 *''

'' Holthuis, 1960 *''

'' Gill, 1898 Ibacinae Holthuis, 1985 *'' Evibacus'' S. I. Smith, 1869 *''

'' Leach, 1815 *''

'' Dana, 1852 Theninae Holthuis, 1985 *''

'' Leach, 1815 ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' *''

Palibacus ''Palibacus praecursor'' is a fossil species of slipper lobster, the only species in the genus ''Palibacus''. It was found in Cenomanian (Cretaceous) deposits at Hakel, Lebanon and described in 1886 by the German palaeontologist W. Dames. Its s ...

'' Förster, 1984 (extinct)

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:Scyllarides latus.jpg, ''

'' Image:Scyllarus arctus 2 by Line1.jpg, ''

Scyllarus arctus ''Scyllarus arctus'' is a species of slipper lobster which lives in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is uncommon in British and Irish waters, but a number of English-language vernacular names have been applied, including '' ...

'' Image:Cooked whole Moreton Bay Bug.JPG, ''

'' (cooked)

Fossil record

The

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

of slipper lobsters extends back 100–120 million years, which is considerably less than that of slipper lobsters' closest relatives, the

s. One significant earlier fossil is ''

Cancrinos claviger ''Cancrinos'' is a genus of fossil crustacean closely allied with the slipper lobsters. One species is known, ''C. claviger'' from the Jurassic of southern Germany. Taxonomy Fossils of ''Cancrinos'' are rare, and their state of preservation is ...

'', which was described from

Upper Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

sediments at least , and may represent either an

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

of modern slipper lobsters, or the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the family Scyllaridae ''

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

''.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1019149 Achelata Edible crustaceans Commercial crustaceans Extant Early Cretaceous first appearances

Description

Ecology

Life cycle

Commercial importance

Common names

Genera

Gallery

Fossil record

References

Further reading

External links