Palinurus elephas   (Fabricius, 1787)

Common spiny lobster

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Palinurus elephas  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Palinurus elephas

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Malacostraca | Decapoda | Palinuridae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthic; depth range 5 - 200 m (Ref. 85369), usually 10 - 70 m (Ref. 4).  Subtropical; 12°C - 16°C (Ref. 114562), preferred 11°C (Ref. 107945); 61°N - 27°N, 32°W - 36°E (Ref. 114562)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: from Norway to Morocco. Subtropical to temperate.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 10.0, range 7 - 8 cm Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 441); common length : 40.0 cm BASL male/unsexed; (Ref. 441); max. reported age: 15 years (Ref. 85318)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Traditionally caught by traps, pots and sometimes by hand (e.g., diving and spearing; Refs. 441, 85369), but these gears were eventually replaced with trammel nets (Ref. 85369). Minimum depth from Ref. 4.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Breeds once a year between June and October. Larger females mate and lay eggs earlier during breeding season while smaller females spawn towards the end (Ref. 85364).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Holthuis, L.B. 1991. (Ref. 4)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bd); Date assessed: 26 September 2013

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Trophic Ecology
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Population dynamics
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Length-weight
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Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
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FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Human Related
Aquaculture profile
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References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: ; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 7.7 - 19.6, mean 11.9 (based on 808 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.21; tm=4; tmax=15).
Prior r = 0.22, 95% CL = 0.14 - 0.33, Based on 4 data-limited stock assessments.
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.
Nutrients :  Calcium = 109 [35, 184] mg/100g; Iron = 1.59 [1.21, 1.97] mg/100g; Protein = 20.2 [19.2, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.185, 0.386] g/100g; Selenium = 48.3 [-31.7, 128.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.79 [1.17, 2.40] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.