CreatureData

Common lobster

Homarus gammarus (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concerncrabs and lobsters

The common lobster (Homarus gammarus) is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup, belonging to the family Nephropidae in the order Decapoda. Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758), and it is placed in the genus Homarus, superfamily Nephropoidea and class Malacostraca.

Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Photo: Bart Braun · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common lobster

Other English names for this species include Lobster, Maine lobster, European lobster and European clawed lobster. The IUCN Red List assesses the common lobster globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
up to 60 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marine, rockysrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

What eats the common lobster?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded predators of the common lobster

8 on record

  1. Garfish Belone belone2 sources
  2. Rock cook Centrolabrus exoletus2 sources
  3. Wrasse Labrus bergylta2 sources
  4. Merlangius Merlangius merlangus2 sources
  5. Ling Molva molva2 sources
  6. Striped red mullet Mullus surmuletus2 sources
  7. Common sole Solea solea2 sources
  8. Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
  • Globi
  • Jacob et al. (2015)
  • Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s

Photos of the common lobster

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Nicolas Goascoz, null · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Nicolas Goascoz, null · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Nicolas Goascoz, null · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
Olivier Dugornay (Ifremer) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)
No machine-readable author provided · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the common lobster live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the common lobster as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Norway

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

What is the common lobster?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Homarus gammarus, known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, H. americanus. It may grow to a length of 60 cm (24 in) and a mass of 6 kilograms (13 lb), and bears a conspicuous pair of claws. In life, the lobsters are blue, only becoming "lobster red" on cooking. Mating occurs in the summer, producing eggs which are carried by the females for up to a year before hatching into planktonic larvae. Homarus gammarus is a source of highly esteemed foodstuff, and is widely caught using lobster pots, mostly around the British Isles.

From the Wikipedia article “Homarus gammarus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homarus_gammarus&oldid=1366347947), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common lobster endangered?

The common lobster is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the common lobster classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classMalacostraca
  4. orderDecapoda
  5. familyNephropidae
  6. genusHomarus
  7. SpeciesHomarus gammarus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Astacus europaeus, Astacus europeus, Astacus gammarus, Astacus marinus, Astacus marinus, Cancer gammarus, Cancer gammarus, Homarus marinus, Homarus vulgaris

Other names and names in other languages (63)
  • European clawed lobsterEnglish
  • European lobsterEnglish
  • European lobsterEnglish
  • LobsterEnglish
  • Maine lobsterEnglish
  • كركند أوربيArabic
  • saratan il bahrArabic
  • bugreAsturian
  • llocántaruAsturian
  • llocantuAsturian
  • llubricanteAsturian
  • llangantCatalan
  • llamàntolCatalan
  • humr evropskýCzech
  • HummerGerman
  • Europäischer hummerGerman
  • astakósGreek
  • ΑστακοκαραβίδαGreek
  • ΚαραβιδομάναGreek
  • homarSpanish
  • abacantoSpanish
  • bogavanteSpanish
  • Bogavante europeoSpanish
  • Euroopa homaarEstonian
  • homardFrench
  • Homard bretonFrench
  • homard EuropéenFrench
  • SarataneFrench
  • lumbriganteGalician
  • HlapCroatian
  • asticeItalian
  • Astice europeoItalian
  • elefante di mareItalian
  • lupicanteItalian
  • lupo di mareItalian
  • ヨーロッパロブスターJapanese
  • legubanLigurian
  • europinis omarasLithuanian
  • liunfantMaltese
  • europahummerNorwegian Bokmål
  • zeekreeftDutch
  • Europese kreeftDutch
  • Europese zeekreeftDutch
  • NoordzeekreeftDutch
  • hummarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • europahummarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • europeisk hummarNorwegian Nynorsk
  • homar europejskiPolish
  • labugantePortuguese
  • lavagantePortuguese
  • navegantePortuguese
  • Homar europeanRomanian
  • omarRussian
  • Европейский омарRussian
  • evropski jastogSlovenian
  • homariAlbanian
  • gaforrja e madhe europianeAlbanian
  • langustaAlbanian
  • europeisk hummerSwedish
  • stacozTurkish
  • istakozTurkish
  • Омар європейськийUkrainian
  • 歐洲螯龍蝦Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common lobster

Other species in the same genus Homarus.

CompareCommon lobster vs American lobsterCommon lobster vs Homarus brittonestrisCommon lobster vs Homarus famiCommon lobster vs Homarus hungaricus

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the common lobster?

The common lobster is a crustacean in the crabs and lobsters subgroup. It belongs to the family Nephropidae in the order Decapoda.

What is the scientific name of the common lobster?

The scientific name of the common lobster is Homarus gammarus, placed in the genus Homarus.

Who named the common lobster and when?

The common lobster was named by Linnaeus in 1758, written as (Linnaeus, 1758).

Is the common lobster endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses the common lobster globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

What other names does the common lobster have?

Other English names for Homarus gammarus are Lobster, Maine lobster, European lobster and European clawed lobster.

Is the common lobster extinct?

No. Catalogue of Life lists the common lobster as living, not extinct.

Is the common lobster an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the common lobster as introduced in 1 country: Norway, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What eats the common lobster?

Animals recorded preying on the common lobster include garfish, rock cook, wrasse and merlangius. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common lobster (Homarus gammarus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-lobster

MLA

“Common lobster (Homarus gammarus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-lobster.

BibTeX
@misc{common_lobster_2026,
  title = {Common lobster (Homarus gammarus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-lobster},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}