Lobsters are decapod crustaceans with gills that allow them to breathe air, but they must be kept cool and wet to breathe properly. They can survive a few days out of the water but will eventually die if the gills dry out.
How Does a Lobster Breathe Air?
When a lobster is out of the water, it can breathe air through its feathery gills, but they must stay moist to prevent the lobster from suffocating. This is why you often see live lobsters in aquatic environments, as gills function best with water.
What are the Lobster’s Gills?
The gills of a lobster are the fuzzy, feathery texture found on the underside of its head and thorax.
There are 20 pairs of gills on each side of a lobster’s carapace. The gills absorb dissolved oxygen from water and expel carbon dioxide. They also control the lobster’s ion levels and pH.
What Do Lobsters Eat?
Their diet includes marine mussels, crabs, starfish, clams, and sea urchins. While they may eat sea sponges for energy, they prefer crabs or small fish. Lobsters use their four tiny antennules and the sensing hairs on their bodies to hunt.
Lobsters use their ‘crusher claw’ to smash prey and their ‘pincer claw’ to tear it apart. They can even use both claws at the same time.
