Maine Lobster

Facts about Maine Lobsters "Scientific name for Maine Lobster is Homarus Nephropidae". Maine Lobster is a variety of lobster that belongs to the genus Homarus of the Nephropidae family. The scientific name of this lobster is Homarus americanus and they are also called as the American lobster, the northern lobster and the True lobster. They are largely found on the Atlantic coastline of North America, ranging mostly from Labrador to New Jersey.

Features about Maine Lobster

An adult Maine Lobster can attain a maximum body size, ranging from 8 inches to 24 inches (200 mm to 610 mm), with a maximum body mass between 1 pound and 9 pounds (0.45 kg and 4.08 kg), making the lobster the heaviest and the longest crustacean variety in the world. These lobsters can be distinguished from other varieties through its tint and the lack of spines on its underside of the rostrum. Usually, they have bluish green to tan color body, with red color spines, but they come with many color variations, as well.

A standard adult Maine Lobster has a body length of 9 inches (230 mm) and weighs between 1.5 pounds to 2 pounds (680 to 910 g). The longest Maine lobsters have a body length of 25 inches (64 cm), excluding claws. Consistent with the Guinness World Records, the heaviest Maine Lobster caught from Nova Scotia in Canada, had the body weight of 44.4 pounds (20.1 kg).

The antennae of the Maine Lobster measure a length of 2 inches (51 mm) and divided into Y-shaped configurations with sharp tips. Each tip shows a dense region of hair tufts spread out in a crisscross arrangement. These hairs are roofed with many nerve cells that can sense odors. Bigger, thicker hairs found all along the edges control the water flow, containing aroma molecules, to the internal sensory hairs. The smaller antennules offer an additional sense of odor. By having a couple of olfactory organs, a lobster can find the direction from where a smell comes, much the similar way humans can heed the direction from where a sound comes. Besides, sensing odors, the antennules can judge the speed of the water to perk up the direction finding ability.

Usually, the Maine Lobster has two urinary bladders, situated on both sides of their head. They use smells to correspond, and those scents are in their urine. They project extended plumes of urine 3.3 feet to 6.6 feet (1 m to 2 meters) facing them, and they achieve so when they sense a potential mate or a rival in the area.

Diet of Maine Lobster

Mostly, the Maine Lobster prefers to feed on mollusks, particularly mussels, polychaetes and echinoderms, although they feed on an extensive variety of other prey items, including cnidarians, brittle stars and other crustaceans.

Feeding behavior of Maine Lobster

The natural food of the diet of the Maine Lobster is relatively steady across dissimilar homes. Usually, the Maine lobster has the capacity of gaining 35 % to 55% of its calories from herring, which is exercised as bait from lobster traps. Only 6 percent of these lobsters coming into the lobster traps to nourish are caught.

Reproduction of Maine Lobster

Mating in Maine Lobsters takes place shortly after the female lobster has molted, and her exoskeleton is still flexible. The female discharges a pheromone the causes the male lobsters to become less violent and to start courtship that entails a courtship dance with their closed claws. Finally, the male lobster inserts sperm packets into the seminal receptacle of the female lobster by making use of his primary pleopods. The female lobster may stock up the sperm for a maximum period of 15 months. The female lobster will lay her eggs in the course of her oviducts, and they surpass the seminal receptacle and are fertilized by the preserved sperm. Then, they are attached to the pleopods of the female lobster, using a glue, where they are looked after pending they are prepared to hatch.

The maximum lifespan of the Maine Lobster ranges from 50 years to 60 years.