Palinurus (crustacean)


Palinurus is a genus of spiny lobsters in the family Palinuridae, native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and western Indian Ocean. A 110-million-year-old fossil, recognisable as a member of the genus Palinurus, was discovered in a quarry in El Espinal in Mexico's Chiapas state in 1995 and named P. palaciosi.

Species

This is a complete list of extant species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Palinurus barbarae Groeneveld, Griffiths & van Dalsen, 2006south of Madagascar
Palinurus charlestoni Forest & Postel, 1964Cape Verde spiny lobsterCape Verde
Palinurus delagoae Barnard, 1926Natal spiny lobster
Palinurus elephas common spiny lobstereastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Morocco and the Azores, and in the Mediterranean Sea
Palinurus gilchristi Stebbing, 1900southern spiny lobsterSouth Africa and Madagascar.
Palinurus mauritanicus Gruvel, 1911pink spiny lobstereastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea.