Lobster IQ Quiz

Lobsters are caught in traps. There is netting in the entrance of the trap, called a head, leading to a metal circle through which the lobster comes when he tries to get the bait in the “kitchen.” There is another funnel-shaped piece of netting that leads to a second part of the trap, the “parlor.” The lobsters crawl in, and they can’t crawl out.

Bend the claws down and twist from the body. Snap claw sections apart. Use nutcrackers to crack, but not crush, then pull out big chunks of meat. With new-shell lobster you need no tools to crack the shell. Break off the eight walking legs. Suck the meat and juice out of each leg. Grab the body in one hand and the tail in the other. Arch the body backwards to separate the tail. Break off tail flippers. Insert a small fork or a finger into the tail where (he flippers came off and push the meat out the other end.

Tomalley, the light green substance found in the lobster’s carapace, or body; is the liver imd pancreas, which are thought to accumulate contaminants from the environment. The lobsters’ tomalley is the natural filter to keep contaminants from entering the system.

The nervous system of a lobster is very simple, and is in fact most similar to the nervous system of the grasshopper. It is decentralized with no brain. There is no cerebral cortex, which in humans is the area of the brain that gives the experience of pain.

Lobsters can be cooked in a variety of ways — baked, broiled, steamed, grilled, sauteed, boiled, stir-fried, or even microwaved. You can tell when a lobster is cooked by inserting an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the tail. When the thermometer reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, the lobster is done. Do not overcook, because the meat will become tough and chewy.

A live lobster is greenish-brown with an orange underside, because of many different color pigment chromatophores. When cooked, all the pigments are masked except for astaxanthin, which is the background red pigment. There are also rare blue, red, white and yellow-spotted lobsters. All turn red when cooked except albinos.

Lobster, without butter, is very low in calories, saturated fat and cholesterol. Lobster meat also contains omega-3 fatty acids, the substances that seem to reduce hardening of the arteries and decrease the risk of heart disease.

The lobster shell must be shed in order for the lobster to grow. This process is called molting. It takes about 20 molts over five to seven years for a lobster to become an adult. When the old shell is shed, the lobster is then called a new-shell lobster, or shedder.

Culls are lobsters that have lost one claw. Molting gives the lobster a chance to grow new body parts that might have been lost. It takes several years but eventually a whole new claw can be grown.

Some people prefer new-shell lobsters because they say the meat is tender, sweet and easy to eat. New-shell lobsters are usually harvested from July to October.

Lobsters eat primarily fresh food, which includes nearly 100 different animals and some plants. Some of the things lobsters often eat are: crabs, clams, mussels, starfish, sea urchins, worms, fish and other lobsters.

A lobster actually chews its food in the stomach. The stomach is located a very short distance from the mouth, and the food is chewed between three grinding surfaces that look like molar teeth, called the “gastric mill”.

Turn the lobster on its back and look at the first pair of swimmerets behind the lobster’s legs. They are hard and bone-like in the male, but soft and feather-like in the female.

Chickens – 1 to 1 and one-eighth pounds
Quarters – 1 and one-quarter pounds
Selects – 1 and one-half to 1 and three-quarter pounds
Deuces – 2 to 2 and one-half pounds
Small Jumbos – 2 and one-half to 3 pounds
Jumbos – 3 pounds and up.

Lobster is available in many forms: live, whole frozen, tails, frozen tails, claws, meat and other specialty, or value added products.

“Shorts” or “snappers” are undersized lobsters that a lobsterman throws back into the ocean so they can grow to legal size – 3 and one-fourth inches from the eye socket to the tail section, but not more than 5 inches.

Yes, this is called of reflex amputation (autotomy). They can discard a limb, this can be a lifesaving phenomenon. Lobsters have the ability to regenerate some of their body parts, for example, the claws, walking legs, and antennae. the fact that lobsters are capable of limb loss and regeneration is indicative of a very primitive nervous system and their differential sensitivity to pain compared to humans or other types of animals (they can “drop” a claw, etc. and go off like nothing happened).