Mediterranean Slipper Lobster

S. latus can grow to a total body length about 45 centimetres (18 in), although rarely more than 30 cm (12 in). This is equivalent to a carapace length of up to 12 cm (4.7 in). An individual may weigh as much as 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). As in all slipper lobsters, the second pair of antennae are enlarged and flattened into "shovels" or "flippers". Despite the name "lobster", slipper lobsters such as Scyllarides latus have no claws, and nor do they have the protective spines of spiny lobsters. Instead, the exoskeleton, and particularly the carapace, are thicker than in clawed lobsters and spiny lobsters, acting as resilient armour. Adults are cryptically coloured, and the carapace is covered in conspicuous, high tubercles.

Scyllarus latus is found along most of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea (one exception being the northern Adriatic Sea), and in parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from near Lisbon in Portugal south to Senegal, including the islands of Madeira, the Azores, the Selvagens Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. In Senegal, it occurs together with a related species Scyllarides herklotsii, which it closely resembles.

The diet of S. latus consists generally of molluscs. The preferred prey is, according to different sources, either limpets or bivalves. The prey, which S. latus can detect even under 3.5 cm (1.4 in) of sediment, is opened by careful use of the strong pointed pereiopods. They will also eat oysters and squid, but not sea urchins or muricid snails. They eat more in warmer seasons, getting through 3.2 oysters per day in July, but only 0.2 oysters per day in January.

S. latus lives on rocky or sandy substrates at depths of 4–100 metres (13–328 ft). They shelter during the day in natural dens, on the ceilings of caves, or in reefs, preferring situations with more than one entrance or exit.

Male Scyllarus latus carry spermatophores at the base of the last two pairs of pereiopods in April. Fertilisation has not been observed in this species, but most reptant decapods mate with the ventral surfaces together. Between July and August, females carry around 100,000 eggs on their enlarged, feathery pleopods. The eggs develop from being a bright orange colour to a dark brown before being shed into the water after around 16 days of development. There is normally only one generation per year.

S. latus is edible, but it is a relatively rare species, and is therefore of little interest to fisheries. However, it is caught in small numbers throughout its distribution, mostly in trammel nets, by trawling and in lobster pots. An annual catch of 2,000–3,000 kg (4,400–6,600 lb) has been reported for Israel. Catching by hand has become increasingly frequent, since the advent of SCUBA diving made the animal's habitat more accessible to humans. This may have affected population sizes of S. latus in some areas.