Scalloped spiny crawfish

About this species

Panulirus homarus is a species of spiny lobster that lives along the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It lives in shallow water, and feeds on the brown mussel Perna perna. It typically grows to a length of 20–25 cm (7.9–9.8 in). Alongside the dark green nominate subspecies, two red subspecies are recognised, one around the Arabian Peninsula, and one around southern Africa. It is the subject of small-scale fishery.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Panulirus homarus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 98 records
February: 13 records
March: 28 records
April: 32 records
May: 16 records
June: 23 records
July: 32 records
August: 21 records
September: 55 records
October: 22 records
November: 22 records
December: 34 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 17–167 m · Deepest record: 500 m

0–10 m: 4 records
10–20 m: 42 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 24 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 10 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 13 records
110+ m: 15 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–30 °C

18–20 °C: 2 records
20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 20 records
24–26 °C: 11 records
26–28 °C: 67 records
28–30 °C: 31 records

Photos

(c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Kian, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Tony Rebelo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Sunčana Bradley, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Shaun Swanepoel, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Peter Southwood, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Tony Rebelo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Scalloped spiny crawfish, Scalloped spiny lobster, East Coast Rock Lobster, scalloped spiny crawfish, scalloped spiny lobster

Names in 8 more languages

German: Kamm-Languste, Transkei-Languste
Spanish: langosta festoneada
Filipino: banagan
French: langouste festonnee, Langouste festonnée
Indonesian: Lobster Pasir, udang karang
Japanese: kebuka ise-ebi, samehada ise-ebi, ケブカイセエビ, ケブカイセエビ［サメハダイセエビ］, サメハダイセエビ
Thai: kung mangkon, กุ้งมังกรกาบ
Simplified Chinese: 波紋龍蝦

Other scientific names: Palinurus homarus, Palinurus spinosus

Similar species

Australian spiny lobster
Panulirus cygnus
Coral cray
Panulirus penicillatus
Banded spiny lobster
Panulirus marginatus
Coral crayfish
Panulirus ornatus
Marine crayfish
Panulirus versicolor
White-whiskered coral crayfish
Panulirus femoristriga

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
426 open-data records from 1758 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.