- published: 16 Mar 2009
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Spiny lobsters, also known as langouste or rock lobsters, are a family (Palinuridae) of about 60 species of achelate crustaceans, in the Decapoda Reptantia. Spiny lobsters are also, especially in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the Bahamas, sometimes called crayfish, sea crayfish, or crawfish ("kreef" in South Africa), terms which elsewhere are reserved for freshwater crayfish.
The furry lobsters (e.g. Palinurellus) were previously separated into a family of their own, the Synaxidae, but are usually considered members of the Palinuridae. The slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are their next-closest relatives, and these two or three families make up the Achelata. Genera of spiny lobsters include Palinurus and a number of anagrams thereof:Panulirus, Linuparus, etc. (Palinurus was also a helmsman in Virgil's Æneid.) In total, 12 extant genera are recognised, containing around 60 living species:
We were at a party
His ear lobe fell in the deep
Someone reached in and grabbed it
It was a rock lobster
Rock lobster
Rock lobster
We were at the beach
Everybody had matching towels
Somebody went under a dock
They saw a rock
It wasn't a rock
It wasn't a rock
It wasn't a rock
It was a rock lobster
Rock lobster
Rock lobster
ROCK LOBSTER
Underneath the waves
Mermaids wavin'
Wavin' to mermen
Wavin' sea fans
Sea horses sailin'
Dolphins wailin'
Red snappers snappin'