The Lobster’s New Clothes
As fall is changing into winter, there too have been plenty of changes happening in the SoundWaters Coastal Education Center aquarium. Our resident American Lobster (Homarus americanus), Peachy, has recently molted, leaving behind her exoskeleton, which looks like an exact Peachy replica in her tank. Peachy, like other lobsters, has an outer shell that is inelastic, meaning it can’t expand past its current size. Thus, as lobsters grow, they need to grow a larger shell underneath their current shell before molting. Once Peachy grew too large for her exoskeleton, Peachy wiggled herself out of the old armor and hid while her new shell completely hardened. This process takes a few weeks! During this time, lobsters are vulnerable to predation if they venture out of their hiding spots to hunt for food. Luckily, the molt itself is a great source of nutrients. When we last checked in on Peachy, she had only a small portion of her old shell left!
Lobsters will molt around 25 times in the first seven years of their lifespan, as they grow from their larval to juvenile stages. Once a lobster reaches adulthood, it will only molt once or twice every year. Peachy has been molting at this slower rate now, which is a great sign, and we can’t wait to see her grow and thrive in our aquarium.
References: https://umaine.edu/lobsterinstitute/educational-resources/life-cycle-reproduction/
