Lobster Larva

Description:

This unusual specimen is a lobster larva captured in a plankton tow net on the Kilo Moana at Station Aloha. We were participating in the STARS program - Science Teachers Aboard Research Ships.

Habitat:

Open ocean. Unlike adult lobsters, which do not really swim, larvae are free swimming. Eventually, if they do not end up as fish food, they finally molt and turn into something that looks like a lobster but is less than an inch long. Then, they settle to the bottom of the ocean and begin their lobster-like life.