Painted Spiny Lobs...   

Painted Spiny Lobster's description

A painted rock lobster has no claws. They have two pairs of big and strong antenna.The first pair of antennae are double ended,the second pair is hardy and spiny,both are usually white.The biggest among them can be 16-17 inches but the most common size of an adult is 12 inches.Panulirus versicolor has smooth abdominal somites, lacking a transverse groove. Abdominal somites 1-6 have a distinct, continuous transverse band along the posterior margins, with dark bands on either side of them. The third maxilliped lacks an exopod. The antennular plate, at the base of the 1st antennae, has 4 strong spines, in a square.Males tend to be larger than females. The carapace has a whitish background, with large areas of bluish-black. The peduncles of the antennae are pinkish, with thick black spines, and the flagellae of the antennae are white.

Painted Spiny Lobster's facts

• They are nocturnal animals (hunts at night).
• They use earth’s magnetism for navigation.
• They are carnivorous animals.

Painted Spiny Lobster's Behavior & Ecology

Growth in spiny lobsters, as in many crustaceans, is impacted by biotic and abiotic factors, including water temperature, food availability and quality, salinity , and injury. In addition, growth is often slower for larger individuals that devote more energy to reproduction. Such factors may influence how lobster growth changes via either intermolt interval or molt increment . Size at maturity is, in turn, tightly coupled to patterns of growth. As a result, size at maturity not only varies between species, but between regions as well.

Painted Spiny Lobster's Feeding

It is a carnivorouse animal which is nocturnal and feeds on both carrion and fresh caught arthropods, other crustaceans, and occasional small fish.

Painted Spiny Lobster's Reproduction

Members of the order Decapoda are mostly gonochoric. Mating behavior: Precopulatory courtship ritual is common (through olfactory and tactile cues); usually indirect sperm transfer.

Painted Spiny Lobster's Conservation

It is prohibited by the Maldives government, to catch and use commercially the juveniles(10cm) and females with eggs.

Berried female lobsters and those less than 25cm in total length are protected by law in Maldives since 15 May 1993.

Painted Spiny Lobster's Relationship with Humans

It is used as a food source, also its shells are used for decoration.

Painted Spiny Lobster habitat

Painted Spiny Lobster threats

Painted Spiny Lobster's status