European Lobster

Around 30 meters, on a rocky bottom, two long orange antennae protrude from a fissure. Approaching slowly, the claws appear—and they do not resemble each other. One is broad and massive: the crusher; the other, more slender: the cutter.

In the European lobster, this asymmetry develops during growth. A 2025 study of 244 juveniles showed that the presence of substrate favored its establishment and that the sixth developmental stage constituted a key period of differentiation.

More discreet than the large antennae, the antennules tell another story: that of smell. In an experiment conducted on Homarus gammarus, no mating was observed when the olfaction of males had been neutralized, contrary to control groups: under the conditions of the study, this sense was therefore crucial for mating.

Then comes the paradox of the armor. Its carapace cannot stretch; to grow, the lobster must molt.

In young individuals studied experimentally, the exuviae immediately carried away approximately 45% of total body calcium, and the data indicated that calcification of the new carapace was still not complete after twenty-four hours. In the shadow of the fissure, it seems built never to yield; yet each growth begins with an armor left empty behind it.