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Nephrops norvegicus

Nephrops norvegicus
Nephrops norvegicus.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Nephropidae
Genus: Nephrops
Species: N. norvegicus
Binomial name
Nephrops norvegicus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms 
  • Cancer norvegicus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Astacus norvegicus Fabricius, 1775
  • Homarus norvegicus Weber, 1795
  • Astacus rugosus Rafinesque, 1814
  • Nephropsis cornubiensis Bate & Rowe, 1880

Nephrops norvegicus, known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, langoustine (compare langostino) or scampi, is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to 25 cm (10 in) long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is now the only extant species in the genus Nephrops, after several other species were moved to the closely related genus Metanephrops. It lives in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, and parts of the Mediterranean Sea, but is absent from the Baltic Sea and Black Sea. Adults emerge from their burrows at night to feed on worms and fish.

Nephrops norvegicus has the typical body shape of a lobster, albeit narrower than the large Homarus genus. It is pale orange in colour, and grows to a typical length of 18–20 centimetres (7–8 in), or exceptionally 25 cm (10 in) long, including the tail and claws. A carapace covers the animal's cephalothorax, while the abdomen is long and segmented, ending in a broad tail fan. The first three pairs of legs bear claws, of which the first are greatly elongated and bear ridges of spines. Of the two pairs of antennae, the second is the longer and thinner. There is a long, spinous rostrum, and the compound eyes are kidney-shaped, providing the name of the genus, from the Greek roots (, "kidney") and ops ("eye").


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