Appearance and lifestyle:
South coast rock lobsters (Palinurus gilchristi) are reddish-brown in colour, and they have a hard shell. Like all crustaceans, rock lobsters have a hard exoskeleton (meaning the skeleton is on the outside of the body rather than on the inside like ours). The skeleton is jointed, allowing rock lobsters to move quickly and efficiently on their 10 jointed legs. Although the hard exoskeleton is like armour or a bullet-proof vest and protects them from predators, rock lobsters have to shed the skeleton in order to grow. This is called moulting. During moulting, rock lobsters are soft and vulnerable to predators until their new shell hardens. They grow between 25-30cm in length.
Habitat:
They are found along the South African Coast between Cape Agulhas in the south-west to East London in the north-east. These deep-water rock lobsters live at depths of between 50 and 170m. Due to them being deep-sea creatures, they are only caught commercially using baited lobster pots. Commercial fisheries catch about 800 tonnes of South Coast rock lobster every year.
Diet:
South coast rock lobsters eat smaller sea creatures such as mussels, worms, crabs and dead animals on the ocean floor.
Threats:
Their biggest threat is overfishing because the west coast rock lobsters is a popular seafood.