California Spiny Lobster

In common with all spiny lobsters, the California spiny lobster has two large, spiny antennae, but no large claws on its legs. The California spiny lobster is one of the largest spiny lobster species, and grows up to 60 centimeters (24 in) long, but does not usually exceed 30 cm (12 in). Males can weigh up to 7.4 kilograms (16 lb)., with the record being a 16 lbs., 1 oz. male caught off Catalina island in 1968. The upper side of the animal is brownish red, without the paler bands or spots seen in some other spiny lobsters. The legs are a similar color, but with one or more lighter streaks running along their length. California spiny lobsters in particular have very brightly colored eye-spots.

The California spiny lobster is found in parts of the Gulf of California, and along the Pacific coast of the length of the Baja California peninsula, extending as far north as San Luis Obispo Bay, California. There are occasional records from Monterey Bay, but the water there is too cold for the California spiny lobster to breed, and it is thought that any adult found in Central California arrived as a larva during El Niño years.

California spiny lobsters live on rocky substrates, at depths of up to 65 meters (213 ft). Although adults can be found in shallow water, including tide pools, they are more frequent in deeper waters. Juveniles generally inhabit rocky habitats at a depth of 0–4 m (0–13 ft) with dense plant cover, especially the surf grass Phyllospadix torreyi.

Natural predators of the California spiny lobster include bony fish such as the California sheephead, giant sea bass and cabezone, sharks such as the horn shark and leopard shark, octopuses and sea otters. In response to an approaching predator, spiny lobsters, including the California spiny lobster, can produce a loud noise using the stick-slip phenomenon, akin to a bowed instrument. The bases of the antennae act as a plectrum (similar to a pick), which is rubbed over a file on the edge of the antennular plate. If a predator is very close, spiny lobsters will flex their muscular tail in order to escape the predator, backwards.

California spiny lobsters are nocturnal, hiding in crevices during the day, with only the tips of their long antennae showing as a means of avoiding predators. In these crevices, they can either be found alone or with 2 to 15 lobsters. The lobsters that are in the crevices tend to retreat further back into the burrow and brace their bodies against the rocky walls instead of chaotically or synchronously swimming out and away from predators. Towards dawn, the spiny lobsters form aggregations, which they maintain until dusk. At night, they emerge and feed on sea urchins, clams, mussels and worms. This activity is important in limiting sea urchin populations, and, subsequently, maintaining healthy seabed communities. Spiny lobsters show a gregarious approach to feeding because they are able to recruit other members of their species to feeding sites.

Female California spiny lobsters reach sexual maturity at a length of 65–69 millimeters (2.6–2.7 in), which is typically at an age of 5–9 years; males are sexually mature after 3–6 years. Because all the hard parts are lost at each molt, the life span of mature spiny lobsters is uncertain; they are thought to live for 50 years or more.

In his original description, John Witt Randall noted that the California spiny lobster is "used as food by the natives" of Upper California. The California spiny lobster is now the most economically important lobster on the American West Coast. Sport fishing may account for up to half the entire catch, while most of the commercial catch comes from lobster traps, with smaller amounts coming from the use of trammel nets or by trawling. The major fishing area is west of Baja California, and imports from Mexico to the United States are twice the amount produced in California.