The American lobster is a large crustacean of the northwest Atlantic and one of the most valuable seafoods in North America. It can live for decades and grow to enormous sizes.
Interesting facts
- Lobsters have two different claws: a heavy crusher and a sharper cutter.
- About one lobster in two million is bright blue because of a genetic quirk.
- Lobsters turn red when cooked, as heat releases a red pigment.
- They taste with tiny hairs on their legs.
- Lobsters communicate by releasing urine from glands near their faces.
- Warming seas have shifted lobster populations north, from southern New England towards Maine and Canada.
Behaviour
Lobsters are mostly nocturnal and shelter in burrows and crevices during the day. They are territorial and fight with their claws.
Breeding and young
Females carry thousands of eggs under their tails for about 10–11 months. Larvae drift in the plankton before settling on the seabed.
Threats and conservation
Ocean warming, disease and fishing pressure.
Where to see it
- Bar Harbor, Maine, on lobster boat tours
- Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada
- New England Aquarium, Boston
- Coastal harbours of Maine
Status source: IUCN Red List. Profile last reviewed September 2026.
