Amazingly Unique and Weird Lobsters

Lobsters are found all over the world. Lobsters have 10 legs with the front ones adapted to claws.

Lobsters are economically important as seafood, forming the basis of a global industry that nets

US$ 1.8 billion in trade annually.

Upogebia deltaura

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This peculiar lobster is a mud lobster from Atlantic Ocean, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. It lives

in burrows at up to 190 m depth and will make use of burrows dug by other animals. It will reconstruct

its burrow after disturbance by storms or trawling.  Upogebia deltura grows up to 100 mm or 4 in long,

and is a dirty yellow color, tinged with green, white or red.

Blind Furry Lobster

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Furry lobsters or sometimes called Coral Lobsters are small crustaceans whose body is covered in

short hairs, hence the name Furry Lobster. The lobster on the above picture is a Blind Furry Lobster.

Slipper Lobster

Slipper lobsters are clawless crustaceans found in all warm oceans and seas. Despite their name,

they are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lobsters. Slipper

lobsters are instantly recognizable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward from the head

as wide plates.

Sculptured Slipper Lobster (Parribacus antarcticus)

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This is a kind of slipper lobster.

Regal Slipper Lobster (Arctides regalis)

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This colorful slipper lobster is commonly called Regal Slipper Lobster.

Pariibacus japonicus

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This type of slipper lobster can be found in the waters of Japan.

Scyllarides squamosus

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The Scyllarides squamosus is a type of slipper lobster.

Balmain Bug (Ibacus peronii)

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The Balmain Bug is a type of slipper lobster found at depths of 20-500 m off the coast of Australia.

It is named after Balmain, New South Wales, and is commonly sold in fish markets in the Sydney area.

Weird Lobster

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A weird-looking lobster photographed in Tokyo Sea Life Park in Japan.

Blue Lobster

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One rare kind of lobster is the Blue Lobster, around one in two million lobsters is blue. It was

discovered that a genetic defect causes a blue lobster to produce an excessive amount of protein.

The protein and a red carotenoid molecule known as astaxanthin, combine to form a blue complex

known as crustacyanin, giving the lobster its blue color.

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Yellow Lobster

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Another very rare type of lobster is the Yellow Lobster. A kind of yellow lobster was caught in 2006 at

the mouth of the Kennebec River. The estimated chance of finding a yellow lobster is approximately 1

in 30 million.

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Split-colored Lobster/Half-and-Half Lobster

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One of the weirdest and rarest kinds of lobster is the Half-and-Half Lobster. It was so named because

it looks like the half is cooked and the other half is raw. It was caught in 2006 by a Maine Fisherman.

Only 3 lobster of this kind had seen in the last 35 years. The chance of finding one is estimated at 1 in

50 million. Lobster shells are usually a blend of the three primary colors: red, yellow and blue. The

colors mix to form the greenish-brown color of most lobsters. All split-colored lobsters observed have

been hermaphroditic.

Albino Lobster

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This distinct and the rarest kind of lobster is estimated that only about one in 100 million lobsters

are albino - lacking in colored pigments. It is also commonly known as "white" or "crystal" lobsters.

Phantom of the Lobster

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This lobster that looks like wearing a mask is considered an albino species and is colloquially called

"Phantom of the Lobster".

Yeti Lobster (Kiwa hirsuta)

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Kiwa hirsuta is a crustacean discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. It is approximately 15

cm or 6 inches long and is notable for the quantity of silky blond setae (resembling fur) covering its

thoracic legs and claws. Its discoverers dubbed it the "Yeti Lobster. It was found at a depth of 2,200

m (7,200 feet), living on hydrothermal vents along the Pacific Antarctic Ridge. The animal has

strongly reduced eyes that lack pigment and is thought to be blind.

Although it is often referred to as the "furry lobster", Kiwa hirsuta is not a true lobster but is more

closely related to squat lobsters and hermit crabs.

Squat Lobster

Squat lobsters are not lobsters at all, but are more closely related to porcelain crabs and hermit crabs.

They are distributed worldwide in the oceans, and occur from near the surface to deep sea hydrothermal

vents. There are currently 870 described species.

Munidopsis tridentate

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The body of a squat lobster is usually flattened, the abdomen is typically folded under itself, and the

first pereiopods or front legs are greatly elongated and armed with long chelae or claws. The fifth pair

of pereiopods is usually hidden within the gill chamber, under the carapace, giving squat lobsters the

appearance of having only eight pereiopods.

Hairy Squat Lobster

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This unusual Hairy Squat Lobsters is photographed in Solomon Islands in the Pacific.

Black Squat Lobster (Galathea squamifera)

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The Black Squat Lobster, also commonly known as Montagu's Plated Lobster, lives in the north-

east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is chiefly nocturnal and catches passing prey,

such as small fish, with its claws.

Hope you enjoyed this. Thank you!

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