What are squat lobsters?

Are squat lobsters lobsters? No says Sarah McPherson

Sarah McPherson

Published: May 5, 2023 at 6:27 am

Squat lobsters – such as this tiny specimen above – might well be squat, but lobsters they are not.

What are squat lobsters?

Squat lobsters belong instead to a group of crustaceans that also includes hermit crabs and porcelain crabs – which, to complicate things further, aren’t true crabs.

Members of this group have undergone an evolutionary transition from a shrimp-like ancestor to something shorter and, well, squatter, folding away their abdomen beneath their carapace.

True crabs did something similar, albeit from a different starting point on the crustacean family tree, while true lobsters retained their ancestral body plan.

How big are squat lobsters?

Squat lobsters are up to 10cm long (including the tail)

What do squat lobsters eat?

A squat lobster's diet is pretty varied, from crustaceans and marine worms to plankton, algae, and even dead animals and plants

Main image © Getty Images

Sarah McPherson

Features editor, BBC Wildlife Magazine

Sarah is features editor for BBC Wildlife Magazine. She has been on the title for more than a decade, and in previous lives has also been the magazine’s section editor, acting deputy editor and production editor. Sarah commissions scientists, writers and photographers from across the globe, and has worked with some of the world’s most renowned wildlife experts. She also regularly writes features - on topics ranging from birding in Colombia to the plight of wildlife rangers - and other content for both the magazine and the website.
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