Portal:Arthropods/Selected article/17
Scyllarides latus, the Mediterranean slipper lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is edible and highly regarded as food, but is now rare over much of its range due to overfishing. S. latus can grow to a total body length about 45 centimetres (18 in), although rarely more than 30 cm (12 in). An individual may weigh as much as 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). As in all slipper lobsters, the second pair of antennae are enlarged and flattened into "shovels" or "flippers". They have no claws, and rely on camouflaged and their tough exoskeleton for protection. They are nocturnal, emerging from caves and other shelters during the night to feed on molluscs.
As well as being eaten by humans, S. latus is also preyed upon by a variety of bony fish. Its closest relative is S. herklotsii, which occurs off the Atlantic coast of West Africa; other species of Scyllarides occur in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Indo-Pacific. The larvae and young animals are largely unknown. (Full article...)