#lobster facts

[thinplacesradio]

wooden pews in a small chapel with a shining floor, red and blue light. the image is distorted by VCR static. white text reads:

[031] THE WRONG TURN. A CALLER LOSES DIRECTION. THE HOST REACHES BACK.

listen here, or anywhere you find your podcasts. transcript under the cut:

[static, radio tuning]

[Traveling Sales Rep: Don’t touch that dial! We’ll be right back, after these short messages.] [static, radio tuning]

[click]

Hello and welcome to Thin Places Radio. I’m your host,

and it is the middle of the night. But don’t worry. You’re not alone.

[Thin Places theme] 

[wind blowing] [wood creaking] [clock ticking]

I’m coming to you… from my studio, which is what I like to call this rickety chapel, closed up for the week, waiting for Sunday. I can hear the wind whistling in the cracks of the old wood, feel the whole frame shudder. There’s stained glass in the windows, but I can’t tell what color any of it is. Does God stay behind in the places we’ve carved out for him, when no one’s left? Does anything else? 

So… what is Thin Places Radio? Well, you can call in about anything strange that you’ve got going on in your life - feelings, omens, premonitions, hauntings.

Are you retracing your steps, even when you can’t remember where you’ve been? 

Are you lost in your own hometown?

Are you reaching out for something you can’t experience? 

Call in, get it off your chest. Lines are open.

[click] [voicemail:]

Never done anything like this before, but I figured that you might understand? I have a amazing sense of direction, I’ve - I drive somewhere once and I know how to get there, I never get lost. The other day last summer, I was headed to the post office by my house, and I'm driving down the road and I - I'm not recognizing any of the landmarks. And I’m like, well, that’s weird, I must’ve just passed it. So I turn around and I drive back, I’m driving further, and I'm passing the intersection, I’m like, well I must’ve passed it again. 

I drove up and down that road three times before I finally had to pull into a parking lot. And I pulled up my phone and my map and - I was on the opposite side of town? I wasn't anywhere near my house or near the post office and I have no clue how I got there. I was so freaked out that I went straight home and I put it in my GPS even though I knew how to get there, I just - just to double check. I thought that was kind of weird. And you know, if you're still looking for a name, Host, you know, hopefully you find yours, but maybe Jade would work in the intro? Just a thought. Bye. 

[click] 

I do. I understand. Out of all of the things I have experienced, this is the most frightening: a lapse inside of my own world, or inside of my own mind. [eerie, curious music] Sometimes when you’ve lived somewhere for years, you wake up one day and its familiarity makes you feel sick to your stomach. You think, why? Why am I here? What is my purpose? The same misery, every day, on its own reliable schedule? You get in your car after work and you begin to drive home. But you miss your exit. And you think, I could - I could keep driving. I could keep driving all night, until I don’t recognize anything. Until I don't - 

[music stops]

I’m sorry, that's... not what you were talking about. I don’t know why I said that. Let me try again, caller.

You were pulled into something wrong, on your way to that post office - something uncanny, unfamiliar when it should have been understandable. Transported, or perhaps transformed. It’s terrifying to look up and not understand how you got there. [searching music] To not recognize the shape of your own life.

I think that there are two things you can do when you get to that parking lot: one, you can take advantage of that strangeness your life has become and say, I’m somewhere new now. I didn’t expect to be here, but I’m going to explore it. Or two, you can do what you've already done: look around at this unfamiliar new place and say, no, no, no, I can’t be here. I have to find my way back home. 

Thank you for the name, caller. Jade. Carveable into a thousand different shapes but not easily broken. Resilient. It’s a good name. I wish it was mine. 

And, just in case - as always - say it with me - please check your home for carbon monoxide. 

[click] [clock ticking]

Something strange, listeners. There is a type of deep-sea squat lobster that eats wood. It is called Munidopsis andamanica. It waits there, in the abyss, for trees and shipwrecks, gifts from the waking world that fall slowly into the darkness of the water. It was made to subsist something it will never see - something that does not exist where it exists. The sea provides.

This is beautiful. I know that it is beautiful. It lives, despite all odds. It finds sustenance, despite all odds. [clock ticks louder] But I think it must be lonely. I wonder if it craves other food. I wonder if it is happy down so deep, or if it thinks of the surface. If it wants to see the sun. 

No, probably not. It’s a crustacean. It doesn’t know any of this. It doesn’t know how improbable it is - that it’s either a freak or a miracle, or both. It eats what it was meant to eat until it dies. However long that is. How are you supposed to keep track of something that’s down so deep? 

[click] [wind whistling] [wood creaking]

I am going to be honest, listeners, in this empty place. I am going to say it to the wind that's tearing apart this chapel and to you. I wish I'd never remembered that there was something to forget. I wish there was someone who could hear me where I am and not just over the radio. I’m lost. I’m lonely. I want to talk to somebody face to face. I want to see the surface. [eerie, curious music]

I don’t think I can get any of that back. But I have to find out what happened. I’m going back for what I lost, even if I lose it all over again. 

[click]

Thank you for listening, callers, and thank you for calling, listeners. I hope you feel a little bit lighter. [heavy pause] I know I do. As always, our number is 717.382.8093. That’s 717.382.8093. Until next time. I’ll be here.

[static] [Traveling Sales Rep: visit us at the - diner just off -] [Various Garbled Voices: the - road - provides - the - road - provides -]

Thin Places Radio is a podcast written by Kristen O’Neal and produced by Kaitlin Bruder. The voice of Your Host is Kristen O’Neal.

Tonight’s voicemail was left for us by a mystery caller. Editing and sound design are by Kaitlin Bruder, and the music tracks you heard in tonight’s episode are: the Thin Places theme and Unearthed, by Miles Morkri, and Umeed by RANA. If you have a question to ask, a story to tell, or a suggestion for the host, give us a call at ‪(717) 382-8093. The lines are always open.

[Thin Places Theme outro]

the - road - provides -

[lobsterenthusiastt]

lobsters have a top speed that is just shy of mach one (1232 km/h). they know your location and they're rapidly closing in. running is futile

interview

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Lobsters in a tree? No, that's just the tree lobster! A member of the stick insect family, this species is considered one of the rarest insects in the world. They are endemic only to Lord Howe Island, a tiny island between New Zealand and Australia, and were believed to have gone extinct in 1918. However, a population of 24 live specimens was rediscovered in 2001, and extensive captive breeding has expanded the population to well over 10,000!

(Image: A pair of tree lobsters (Dryococelus australis) by Justin Gillian)

Want to request some art or uncharismatic facts? Just send me proof of donation of any amount to any of the fundraisers on this list, or a Palestinian organization of your choice!

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Pink Fairy Crab: also known as a "pink hairy squat lobster," this species of crab measures just 1.5cm (about half an inch) long, and it has a uniquely colorful, fuzzy-looking appearance

The scientific name of this species is Lauriea siagiani, but it's commonly known as the pink hairy squat lobster or the pink fairy crab. Like all so-called "squat lobsters," it is actually a type of crab (and a particularly flamboyant one, at that).

Pink fairy crabs have a strikingly colorful appearance, with pink, purple, or reddish-orange markings that look almost fluorescent; they also have dark purple "freckles" and bright orange eyes. The crabs themselves are tiny, measuring no more than 1.5cm (about half an inch) long, and their fuzzy little bodies are covered in long, hair-like structures known as setae.

These crabs can be found in the coral reefs around Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines, where they generally settle into the ridges of giant barrel sponges and feed on various bits of detritus that are collected in their own "fur."

Sources & More Info:

Crustacean Research: Lauriea siagiani, a New Galatheid from Bali, Indonesia (PDF)

Biogeography: Lauriea siagiani from Hachijo-Jima Island, Japan (PDF)

Australian Geographic: This Bewhiskered "Fairy Crab" is the Tiniest Teddy Bear of the Ocean

Macronesia.net: Hairy Squat Lobster

Insects and Other Invertebrates: Lauriea siagiani

Reef Life: Commensalism

Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific: Lauriea siagiani

[theofficialastronomy101]

The Lobster Nebula, where complex interactions b/w interstellar winds, radiation pressures, magnetic fields, & gravity have produced some really cool patterns of gas & dust. The nebula is massive, spanning ~400 light-years. It is also forming some of the largest known stars. 650 megapixel

[fucxingcuties]

[cookiewishesyou]

This February 2nd, 2025, Cookie wishes you a grounding Groundhog Day!

Those of us in the northern hemisphere may have been given the predication of 6 more weeks of winter, but to those in cold, dark climates, Cookie reminds you to take heart; there are brighter days ahead! ☀️

[zoetheneko]

Fun fact about Sapphire Lobster Cookie before i go to bed: Due to being the offspring of a sea cookie and a flower cookie, the oceanic and floral sents both blend nicely with each other, making Sapphire Lobster's sent quite unique.

[sea-lanterns]

POV: You receive a text from your girlfriend, asking you to come over (Transfem Furina implied):

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: American lobster

This series takes us all over the world, but today we're going back to the good-ol' burger-drinking, beer-eating, eagle-worshiping U-S-of-A! The American lobster may be the world's most famous crustacean as they have become a major source of overpriced seafood. There's a lot to learn about this critter, so let's go check out the crustacean sensation that's sweeping the nation.

(Image: an American lobster seen from the side. It is a crustacean with 8 legs, a pair of large pincers, and a pointed head that has two long antennae and small eyes. The abdomen in elongated and segmented and ends with a fan-shaped tail. It is a greenish-brown color. End ID)

Homarus americanus is the largest lobster and largest crustacean, reaching a maximum recorded length of 64 cm (25 in) and weight of 20.1 kg (44.4 lbs). The average size is between 20 and 61 cm (8-24 in) and 680 to 910 grams (1.5-2 lbs). Lobsters are members of the family Nephropidae and despite the common names, they are not closely related to squat lobsters, slipper lobsters, or spiny lobsters. They are, however, closely related to crayfish. Lobsters are decapods, crustaceans with 10 limbs. Of the 5 pairs of limbs, the rear 8 are used for walking and the front two have become enlarged into a pair of powerful pincers used for defense and offense. The claws are asymmetrical and each serves different purposes. One claw is large and stout, with rounded, molar-like growths on the cutting edge. This claw is called the crusher claw and it is used to crush through hard-shelled food. The other claw is more slender and has a sharper cutting edge. This is the scissor claw and it is used to cut soft food into small enough pieces to eat. The crusher and scissor claws can be on either side of an individual lobster and very rarely a lobster will grow two crushers or two scissors instead of one of each. While the pincers can close with incredible force, they can't open with much force. This allows them to be held shut with rubber bands. The front two pairs of walking legs also have pincers, but they are much smaller. Lobsters can regrow missing legs. It can take up to 5 years for a missing pincer to regrow to the size of the original.

(Image: a lobster seen from the front, with the pincers in prominent view. One claw is bulkier than the other. The bulky claw has rough nodules on the cutting edge. The skinnier claw has serrated spines on the cutting edge. end ID)

Lobster anatomy is divided between two major segments: the cephalothorax and the abdomen. The cephalothorax contains the mouthparts, brain, legs, and many sensory organs. While they have eyes, they are weak due to lobsters spending most of their time on murky seafloors. Taste, smell,and touch are their primary senses. Antennae are used to examine the world and both the antennae and legs have sensory hairs called antennules on them that can detect the presence of chemicals in the water. Lobsters can both detect the smell of food and determine which direction it is coming from. The antennules also detect the motion of the water. Lobsters also urinate from a pair of bladders on the sides of the head. They can adjust the scent of the urine to communicate with each other. That's right, lobsters communicate by peeing on each other from their faces. The mouthparts consist of leg-like structures called maxillipeds that grab food and mandibles that help rip food up. Lobsters can't chew their food, but they have a structure in the esophagus called a gastric mill that grinds food down as it is swallowed. The abdomen is long and consists of multiple segments, allowing for flexibility. On the underside of the abdomen are feathery appendages called pleopods or swimmerettes. The first pair of swimmerettes is modified into sex organs called gonopods which can be used to differentiate males from females. The remaining pairs are used to circulate water around the lobster, helping keep fresh water over the internal gills. At the tip of the abdomen is a large, fan-shaped tail. By quickly curling the abdomen under their bodies, lobsters can generate thrust and send themselves shooting backwards. This is done to escape perceived threats.

(Image: a lobster standing on sand with its abdomen curled under its body. End ID)

Like other crustaceans, lobsters periodically outgrow their exoskeletons and must molt. After molting, the lobster will have a new, soft exoskeleton that takes time to harden. This period of softness leaves lobsters much more vulnerable to predators, so they will usually hide until their new shell hardens. They also eat the old shell to regain the nutrients and minerals it holds. The period after molting is also when females become fertile. A molted female will release pheromones that attract males. The male performs a courtship dance and if the female approves, he will use his gonopods to transfer a packet of sperm into her shell. The female can store this packet for over a year before using it. She lays thousands of eggs at once eggs and fertilizes them with the sperm as they come out. The eggs stick to her swimmerettes and she will work to keep them clean and keep air circulated over them. The clusters of eggs allegedly look similar to raspberries and a female with eggs is said to be "in berry". I personally don't see it. The eggs develop for 10 to 11 months before hatching, wherupon the female shakes her tail to dislodge the larvae. The larvae start out as a tiny, planktonic form called a metanapulus that drifts near the surface of the water and eats plankton. After their 4th molt, the larvae takes on a sub-adult form more similar to an adult, though they are still small enough to swim with their swimmerettes. Approximately 1 in 1,000 larvae will live long enough to reach this stage. After another molt, the sub-adult takes on its final form and sinks to the bottom, where they will gradually grow into an adult. Lobsters molt up to 10 times in their first year, then may one molt once every few years. By the time a lobster is large enough for anglers to legally keep, they will have undergone around 25-27 molts. There isn't really a maximum age for lobsters. They don't go through the same aging process as most animals. Lobsters have the ability to repair the damage to DNA that causes aging. While they will not age to death, you are unlikely to find thousand year old lobsters roaming about. Each molt takes more energy than the previous one and a lobster that doesn't die of predation, disease, or injury will eventually become unable to complete a molt and will die as a result. Most estimates place the maximum age for lobsters at about 100 years, but there are unconfirmed reports of lobsters reaching 140 years.

(Image: somebody holding a lobster so the underside of the abdomen is visible. This lobster is a female with masses of small, black eggs on her abdomen. End ID)

(Image: A lobster larva shown in the first four molts. The first three stages look more like transparent shrimp than lobsters. The final stage looks that a miniature lobster and is orange. End ID)

You would be hard-pressed to find a fictional depiction of a lobster that isn't bright red, but wild lobsters aren't that color. Most range from greenish-blue to greenish-brown, good colors for hiding amongst rocks and seaweed. That being said, American lobsters are famous for their wide range of color variants. Lots of people have herd of blue lobsters, but there are actually quite a few color options caused by genetic traits that overproduce certain pigments. Because of the rareness of these traits and the colorful lobsters being more at rick of predation, they are quite rare. Still, many color variants have been seen including blue ( 1 in 10 million lobsters), red (though not as bright as cooked lobsters. 1 in 30 million), bright yellow (1 in 30 million), calico (yellow and blue spots, 1 in 25 million), split down the middle (1 in 50 million), and white (albino or leucistic, 1 in 100 million). Many lobster anglers seem to agree that if they catch colored lobsters they should either be released or donated to aquariums or scientific organizations as opposed to being eaten. Reports of color variants have increased in the last 20ish years. This may be due to overfishing of their predators, but it may also be that social media allows sightings to be reported more easily.

(Images: 6 pictures of lobster color varaints. Let to right, top to bottom: blue, red, yellow, calico, split, white. End ID)

American lobsters are found in cold, coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to northern Canada. They are famously highly abundant around the state of Maine, which has the world's largest lobster fishery. They prefer rocky bottoms with plenty of places to hide. Despite those big claws, lobsters are rather timid. They spend a lot of their time hiding and are quick to use their tails to flee. If pressed, they will use their powerful claws to fight. While occasionally active in the day, lobsters are mostly nocturnal, coming out at night to find food. Speaking from personal experience, I did a night SCUBA dive in Maine and there were so many lobsters I could barely see the seafloor. American lobsters are territorial and will fight over food, shelter, and mates. When they live in close quarters, lobster will establish a dominance hierarchy based largely on size. They use chemical signatures to identify themselves and communicate. The diet of an American lobster mostly consists of small invertebrates such as worms, slugs, clams, and crabs, but they also eat carrion and algae and seagrass. Lobsters in captivity have been known to engage in cannibalism, but this has never been seen in the wild.

(Image: a lobster molting. The carapace on the back of the cephalothorax has come off and the soft-bodied lobster is emerging through the gap created. End ID)

The American lobster is a popular food source and so is fished heavily in the northern USA and Canada, with the state of Maine and Atlantic province having the largest industries. The vast majority of lobster fishing is done with special lobster traps, sometimes called pots. These are cages baited with dead fish that have funnel-shaped entrances. The idea is that the shape of the entrance lets lobsters in, but makes it hard for them to get out. Humorously, lobster traps have been found to be incredibly inefficient, all but the largest lobsters can enter and leave freely. The lobsters that get caught tend to be the ones unlucky enough to be in the trap when it's pulled up. Bait has been found to comprise a large portion of the diet of lobsters in Maine and individual lobsters have been known to claim traps as their territory and fight off others trying to enter them. Modern traps are also required to have holes allowing lobsters below the size limit to leave easily. The inefficiency of lobster traps has allowed the population to remain stable despite the incredibly heavy fishing. in addition, there are many regulations to protect the species, including requirements to release small lobsters and egg-bearing females. There is no lobster aquaculture doe to how long it takes them to reach a usable size. Commercial lobster fishing started with poor laborers who could get them cheap due to how abundant the lobsters were in the area. As with so many other things, the rich came, took an idea created by the poor, and drove up prices so much the original people could no longer afford their own invention. Lobsters are traditionally cooked by boiling, usually with the lobster still alive at the time. The ethics of live cooking lobsters is debated. Some insist their brains do not have the regions responsible for feeling pain while others point out they still respond negatively to stimuli and therefore can still feel some kind of distress even if it isn't the same as human pain. Some jurisdictions have made live boiling illegal and require the lobster to be dead first. Freezing the lobster or a stab through the cephalothorax are offered as more humane than boiling. The American lobster is classified as least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not at risk of extinction.

(Image: a modern lobster trap. It is a rectangular wire cage painted yellow. There are two chambers inside. The first chamber has two openings to the outside and is where bait is placed. The second chamber has another funnel-shaped opening to the first chamber and is intended to trap the lobsters within. An opening on the side of the second chamber allows small lobsters to escape. A brick is used to weigh the cage down. End ID)

[imawriternotamagican]

It's a little known fact that lesbians, when distressed, will make a boy that looks like a younger version of their father their best friend.

[tucker-keane-funfacts]

Fun fact: Tucker is banned from the local red lobster for unknown reasons

[blood-ology]

Can someone please tell me who this is

[uncharismatic-fauna]

The Novel Norway Lobster

Nephrops norvegicus, better known as the Norway lobster, the Dublin Bay lobster, or in its culinary form as langoustine or scampi, is a small lobster found all along the European coast in the Atlantic ocean, from Norway and Iceland to Portugal, as well as the Adriatic Sea. They reside in muddy seabeds at up to 800 m (0.5 mi) below the surface.

Norway lobsters spend most of their time digging, maintaining, and hiding in their burrows, which are built about 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) deep in the mud. When they do leave their burrows, it is only to forage or mate. Like many lobsters, N. norvegicus is an omnivore; they feed on anything they can find, including carrion, worms, fish, jellyfish, and other crustaceans. Predators include larger crustaceans, such as shore crabs, cod, stingrays, and small spotted catsharks.

The breeding period for Dublin Bay lobsters depends on the population's location and the temperature of the water, but generally takes place in late winter or spring. Females typically mate with 2-3 males, and carries 1000-5000 eggs under her tail for 8 to 9 months. After hatching, the planktonic larvae drift through the ocean for about two months, during which time they rise to the surface at night and descend to the ocean floor during the day. After settling on the bottom, juveniles undergo a molt before becoming fully mature. Afterwards, adults typically undergo 1-2 molts every year, and can live up to 10 years in the wild.

N. norvegicus is typically pink or orange in color, with a white underbelly and a darker stripe along the upper part of the claw. Adults can reach up to 20 cm (8 in) in length including the claws, which can comprise up to half that length. Its large eyes are exceptionally sensitive to light, and Norway lobsters are rarely seen during the daytime.

Conservation status: The Dublin Bay lobster is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. It is commonly harvested for food, and populations are monitored closely.

Photos

Sue Scott

Institute of Marine Research

Hans Hillewaert

[matchalovertrait]

Harvestfest at the Fyres Home 🍂

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[mikufunfacts]

miku fun fact #54

miku would like lobster maybe or not