Long Claw Squat Lobster, Munida refulgens
Long Claw Squat Lobster, Munida refulgens. Lobster provided by the commercial fishermen of the greater Los Cabos area, Baja California Sur, January 2011. Length: 6.5 cm (2.5 inches); claws: 16 cm (6.3 inches).
The Long Claw Squat Lobster, Munida refulgens, is a decapod crustacean and a member of the Munidae or Squat Lobster Family. In Mexico they are known as langostine pinze large or munida radiante. They are not actual lobsters and more closely related to a variety of hermit crabs. It is one of twelve known members of the Munida Genus found in the Tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. They have a flattened body with the abdomen folded under itself. The first set of legs (pereiopods) are greatly elongated (3 to 5 times longer than the shell) and armed with long claws. The fixed portion of the claw is about twice the width of the movable finger (dactyl). The forearm (propodus) is free of spines. The fifth pair of legs are often hidden within the gill chamber, under the shell giving them the appearance of having only eight legs. The shells are well marked with transverse lines (striae). Keys to identification include a very long and straight rostrum with adjacent supraocular spines that are short, sharp, slightly diverging and 20% of the rostrum in length with their tips reaching one-third the level of the eyes. They have large brown eyes with diameters that are approximately one half the length of the rostrum. They are found in the crevices of rocks or sitting on top of coral reefs and are highly territorial. They catch prey with their long claws including passing fish, however, they are primarily scavengers that collect debris with eatable bits filtered out with their mouths. They serve as a vital food source for a wide variety of marine life including the Humboldt Squid, turtles, whales and numerous fishes. Fossil records indicate that the Squat Lobsters date to 150,000,000 to 175,000,000 years ago. The Long Claw Squat Lobster are much smaller than commercially-harvested true lobsters with body lengths that reach a maximum of 9.1 cm (3.6 inches). They are found from depths of 60 feet to within deep sea hydrothermal vents at 1,463 m (4,800 feet).
In Mexican waters the Long-claw Squat Lobster are found within the extreme southern portion of the Sea of Cortez and along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala.
They can be confused with the Squat Lobster, Munida debilis (large eyes that reach two-thirds of the rostrum).
The Long-claw Squat Lobsters are sold commercially and sold in restaurants as “langostino lobster” or as “lobster” when incorporated into seafood dishes.