Types of Lobsters

Although many crustaceans carry the name lobster, for the purpose of buying lobsters to eat, you really only need to know about two types of lobsters...

...the unclawed lobster and the clawed lobster.

What's the difference between them?

You may also be interested in:
Hard Shell Lobster, Maine Lobster Season, Soft Shell Lobster

Spiny Lobsters - Unclawed Lobster

The spiny lobster, often called a rock lobster because of its tendency to live in rock crevices, or among coral reefs, is distinguished by a bumpy, spiny shell, long antennae, AND...

Although like its clawed counterpart, it has five sets of legs, the spiny lobster does not have a larger, meat filled set of claws. However...

What the spiny lobster lacks in claw meat, it tends to make up for by having more meat in its tail than the clawed lobster.

Spiny lobsters that are harvested off the coasts of California, Florida, the Caribbean Islands, and in the Mediterranean Sea, and the South Pacific may be marketed as warm water tails, while cold water tails come from the lobsters caught near Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea and South Africa.

Live spiny lobsters are only sold in areas where they are caught. So, unless you live in one of those places, you will most likely need to buy them as frozen rock lobster tails.

Clawed Lobster

The most popular lobster, the clawed lobster, has ten legs, two of which are large claws - a crusher claw and a ripper (pincher) claw. Because of the amount of tender meat stored within them these claws are precious!

Typically a cold water lobster, the clawed lobster is caught in the northeastern AND the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

The American Lobster (homarus americanus), also known as the Northern lobster and the Maine lobster is found off the shores of North America (seasonally as far south as North Carolina) and the Canadian provinces. With meatier claws and a wider tails it is usually larger than the European lobster.

The European Lobster (homarus gammarus) is caught in the northeastern Atlantic waters, from the coasts of Norway to as far south as Morocco. Although smaller than the American lobster it is a bit more expensive.

Clawed live lobsters are easier to buy than live spiny lobsters. If your local grocer does not sell fresh lobster, you can get overnight delivery from an online lobster store.

Which types of lobsters are the tastiest?

Seafood connoisseurs worldwide dispute whether the clawed lobster is superior, or whether it is actually the spiny, rock lobster that has the better taste.

My advice... Try both types of lobsters and YOU decide!