Name: Little Cape Town Lobster
Scientific Name: Scyllarus arctus Linnaeus, 1758
Family: Scyllaridae
Group: Crabs, shrimps and other small critters
Class: Invertebrates
Size: 11-25 cm.
These critters live inside holes in rocks but are occasionally found over soft sediment. They are clearly distinguished from other crustaceans by having their second par of antennae transformed in very wide lobes. These tiny lobsters do not swim: they crawl along the bottom in search for food. These animals are highly prized as food and, once cooked, they show a marked St. James cross on their backs, hence the name in Spanish (i.e. Santiaguiño). In the Azores, the leave the shore in October and migrate to deeper waters until April, which is the time to return and breed.
Photo by:
puteauxplongee.com
Azores
