Lobster

The American lobster lives on the cool, rocky seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of North America. It has a hard shell, a long body, and ten legs. The front two legs are big claws that it uses to catch food and to hold on to things.

Its two claws are not the same. One is a chunky crusher claw, strong enough to crack open shells. The other is a slimmer claw with a fine edge for tearing softer food. With them the lobster hunts mussels, clams, snails, crabs and small fish along the bottom of the sea.

Many people think lobsters are bright red, but a live one usually is not. In the water most American lobsters are a greenish-brown colour that helps them hide among the rocks. They only turn red after they are cooked. Now and then a very rare lobster is born bright blue instead.

A lobster wears its skeleton on the outside, like a suit of armour. To grow bigger, it must wriggle out of its old shell and grow a fresh, larger one. It does this many times as it gets older. Lobsters can live a surprisingly long time, and scientists believe some may reach about a hundred years old.

People catch American lobsters for food, so fishers and scientists work together to look after them. They set rules about which lobsters may be kept and return egg-carrying mothers to the sea. This care helps keep plenty of lobsters living along the coast.