Homarus americanus
- This species undergoes sexual reproduction
- Before they mate females of this species release a special chemical callled pheromones into the water to let males know they are ready to undergo sexual reproduction.
- In order to mate, females need to molt or cast off a specific part of their body, which they could only do a certain points of the year, which is why they must release pheromones as a sign to the male members of this species. The releasing of pheromones is common to species within this phylum.
- Once the female releases her pheromones, males who like the female fight to undergo sexual reproduction with the female.
- The male who wins will take the animal to a secret cave to protect her from predators she becomes less safe from when undergoing the process of molting, where she is in a state of vulnerability as she is casting off parts of her body which make her more susceptible .
- In the cave the male begins to have sexual reproduction with the female when he puts a pair of pleodods into the female's stomach.
- At the discretion of the female, she releases her eggs that meet with the sperm the male released from his pleodods
- After this, the female releases its old shell and begins to molt, replacing it with a new shell.
IMAGE A: The ovaries of a female american lobster are shown in this picture. One might notice how they are formed in the shape of the the letter "H" which is a common way to distinguish the ovaries of a female lobster, versus the ovaries of other organisms within this phylum. These tend to be found directly below the heart of the lobster.
IMAGE B: The testes of a male american lobster are shown in this picture. One might notice how they form more of a "T" shape, which tends to be the case for testes. However, they can also have a "H" shape, similar to how all ovaries are shaped. These structures, similar to that of ovaries, tend to be found directly below the heart of the lobster.
IMAGE B: The testes of a male american lobster are shown in this picture. One might notice how they form more of a "T" shape, which tends to be the case for testes. However, they can also have a "H" shape, similar to how all ovaries are shaped. These structures, similar to that of ovaries, tend to be found directly below the heart of the lobster.
The video below shows how an example of a lobster molting by removing his shell. As you can see in the video, as molting takes a pretty long time to happen, considering the amount of time it takes not only for the lobster to remove his shell but replace it with a new one, for the period of time the lobster does not have a shell it is likely to be more vulnerable to outside influences. Therefore, it makes sense for a male's natural instinct to be to protect it by bringing it to a cave when they are reproducing.