Lobster

Clawed lobsters comprise a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails, and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate. Commercially important species include two species of Homarus from the northern Atlantic Ocean, and scampi – the northern-hemisphere genus Nephrops and the southern-hemisphere genus Metanephrops. Although several other groups of crustaceans have the word "lobster" in their names, the unqualified term "lobster" generally refers to the clawed lobsters of the family Nephropidae. Clawed lobsters are not closely related to spiny lobsters or slipper lobsters, which have no claws (chelae), or to squat lobsters. The closest living relatives of clawed lobsters are the reef lobsters and the three families of freshwater crayfish.

Famous quotes containing the word lobster:

“I warn you, Jedediah, you’re not going to like it in Chicago. The wind comes howling in off the lake and gosh only knows if they ever heard of lobster Newburg.”
—Orson Welles (1915–1985)

“Give praise with the lobster who is the almighty picker-upper and is still fine to the tongue.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)

“the small town big shot who, although very short,
who although with a cigarette-stained mustache,
who although famous for lobster on the rocks,
left me here, nubkin, sucking in my vodka
and emphysema cigarettes, unable to walk
your walks, unable to write your writes.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)