Norway lobster

iNorway lobster

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Astacidea
Family:	Nephropidae
Genus:	Nephrops<ref>Several other species formerly included in the genus Nephrops are now included in the genus Metanephrops.</ref> Leach, 1814
Species:	N. norvegicus

Nephrops norvegicus
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Norway lobster, Nephrops norvegicus (also called Dublin Bay prawn or langoustine), is a slim orange-pink lobster up to 24 cm long <ref>Noorse kreeft — Nephrops norvegicus. SoortenBank.nl. Retrieved on August 24, 2006.</ref> found in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean and North Sea as far north as Iceland and northern Norway, and south to Portugal and the Mediterranean Sea. The tail is muscular, and is frequently eaten, often under the name "scampi". Norway lobster is particularly popular in Spain and Portugal where, although being cheaper than the European lobster, it tends to be eaten more on special occasions <ref>Spain Annual Seafood Report. American Embassy, Madrid (1995-09-15).</ref>.

Norway lobsters are solitary predators, feeding mostly on molluscs and other crustaceans ^{[citation needed]}.

The Norway lobster is an important species for fishery, mostly by trawling. Around 60,000 tonnes are caught annually, half of it in United Kingdom waters <ref>Nephrops norvegicus. FAO: Fisheries Global Information System (FIGIS) (2004-02-26).</ref>. Discards from Nephrops norvegicus fishery may account for up to 37% of the energetic requirements of certain marine scavengers, such as the hagfish Myxine glutinosa <ref> (2006) Importance of discards from the English Nephrops norvegicus fishery in the North Sea to marine scavengers. Marine Ecology — Progress Series 313: 215-226.</ref>. Boats involved in Nephrops fishery also catch a number of fish species such as plaice and sole, and it is thought that without that revenue, Nephrops fishery would be economically unviable <ref>Ivoe Clucas (1997). A study of the options for utilization of bycatch and discards from marine capture fisheries: 9.1.2 Nephrops. FAO Fisheries Circular No. 928: FIIU/C928.</ref>.

In December 1995, the commensal Symbion pandora was discovered attached to the mouthparts of a Norway lobster, and was found to be the first member of a new phylum, the Cycliophora <ref>Funch, P. & R. M. Kristensen (1995). Cycliophora is a new phylum with affinities to Entoprocta and Ectoprocta. Nature 378: 711-714.</ref>.