Lobster? Crab?

[jtpwils]

Here is a creature we came across on a night dive in Roatan Honduras last week on a site called Newman's Wall - if I remember right we were somewhere around 45 feet when we came across this. I seem to remember it being more yellow than the picture shows, but obviously what my eyes see and what the camera sees are two different things.

Any help in identifying this would be great - thanks.

 

[Rhone Man]

That's a slipper lobster, or some people call them shovel-nosed lobsters.

They are even dumber than regular lobsters - their IQ is roughly on a par with the rocks they cling to. Their only defence is to hold on tight.

I tend not to catch them because they are much rarer than other types of lobster. But they are making a bit of a comeback (defying Darwin...). I probably only saw about 1 or 2 in the first 20 years of my diving life, but I saw three last year alone.

 

[jtpwils]

Thanks Rhone Man.