# Common lobster (*Homarus gammarus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-lobster  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | up to 60 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine, rocky |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

 Recorded predators: Garfish (*Belone belone*), Rock cook (*Centrolabrus exoletus*), Wrasse (*Labrus bergylta*), Merlangius (*Merlangius merlangus*), Ling (*Molva molva*), Striped red mullet (*Mullus surmuletus*), Common sole (*Solea solea*), Atlantic horse mackerel (*Trachurus trachurus*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 1 country. Introduced: Norway. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Malacostraca
- order: Decapoda
- family: Nephropidae
- genus: Homarus
- species: *Homarus gammarus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

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

## Common questions

### 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

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

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