Once known as “sea cockroaches” and only fed to prisoners, lobsters have gained so much popularity as a gourmet dish in the last century that fishermen literally risk their lives to catch them. Usually possessing three to five pairs of legs with large claws, traditional lobsters are members of the Nephropidae family, and actually have no close relation to spiny (rock) lobsters, slipper lobsters, or squat lobsters, as none of those species have the claws that define “lobsters”. These crustaceans have blue blood running through their veins because of high copper levels, and are considered invertebrates because they lack spinal cords. They are covered in a hard exoskeleton, but are vulnerable to predators because they have to molt this natural armor in order to grow larger.

Although the typical color is of course red for the shell, often darker shades of red-brown are seen and more rarely mottled yellow-orange, calico and even blue. Since it is difficult to see at the bottom of the sea, lobsters make good use of their antennae, constantly twitching around, to sense their surroundings. Typically they leisurely crawl around on the seafloor, if threatened however, they utilize their tails to powerfully propel themselves backwards.

If they can avoid a group of predators that has humans at the forefront, most lobsters are capable of living very long lives in which they actually see an increase in fertility and ability, as well as size, as they get older. This is most likely due to their secretion of telomerase, an enzyme that repairs sections of DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes. Telomerase is present in humans during embryonic stages, but not during adulthood. Lobsters’ constant secretion of this enzyme grants them a sort of “fountain of youth”. This same longevity allows them to grow more muscular with each molt, and has led to lobsters as large at 44 pounds (20 kg) and as old as 60! Despite large scale hunting, lobsters are in no danger of extinction and, unfortunately for them, will probably remain on restaurant menus all over the world.