LIFE- CYCLE: FROM EGG TO ADULT
Spiny lobsters undergo a magical metamorphosis, with juvenile stages that look nothing like full-grown adults. EGG
In summer pregnant females, known as ‘berried’ for the orange, berry-like eggs attached to their legs, carry their brood of 11,000–200,000 eggs to deeper waters where they are incubated for nine months. The females return to shallow water in spring to allow the eggs to hatch.
PHYLLOSOMA STAGE
Hatchlings, called phyllosoma, are flattened, transparent, leaf-like and 3mm long. This unique larval stage is diagnostic of all clawless lobsters. Phyllosoma spend up to 12 months drifting on ocean currents.
PUERULUS STAGE
The phyllosoma moult 8–10 times through a process called ecdysis, shedding their skin in order to grow. With each moult, their body shape changes. In the final moult they become a miniature version of the adult, the 2mm-long soft-bodied stage known as the puerulus, and settle down to life on the seabed, often among seagrass.
ADULT
These long-lived crustaceans have been known to reach 60cm and weigh up to 8kg, though individuals over 40cm are rare. Sexual maturity is reached at 4–6 years and 20–35cm in length. Breeding females are only receptive for a short period, so attract mates by stridulating – rubbing their antennae.