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Panulirus penicillatus

Koura

Double-spine Spiny-Lobster

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Double-spine Spiny-Lobster, Double-spine Crayfish, Double-spine Rock-Lobster, Pronghorn Crayfish, Pronghorn Rock-Lobster, Pronghorn Spiny-Lobster, Tufted Spiny-Lobster; French Langouste Fourchette

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Koura (RR AT), Kōura (MG MK MT TW), Kōura / Kōura Tai (AK), Kōula (TS), Ula (PK NS)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - Tuamotu, Hawai‘i - Galapagos - Mexico, n. to s.Japan.

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine, near-shore, outer reef-flat and outer reef-slope to 10m

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Food; Poisonous to eat - moderate

KEY FEATURES: Carapace to 100mm long. Males reddish-brown, while females are usually greenish above. Antennae 1x total body length. Greenish to red-brown, with pale spots on thorax, but few on abdomen. Has two pairs of spines on the flat plate between the feelers. In older males the carapace is very large in comparison to the tail.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The only species with two pairs of spines on the plate between the feelers.

Enlarged Image of 'Panulirus penicillatus'

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
P	+++	+++	^+++		^P		++++

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			P

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Panulirus penicillatus (Olivier, 1791)
SYNONYMS: Astacus penicillatus [O]; Palinurus gigas; Palinurus penicillatus; Palinurus ehrenbergi

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; CRUSTACEA; MALACOSTRACA; EUMALACOSTRACA; Eucarida; Decapoda; Reptantia; Palinura; PALINURIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -. Comment: NBSAP - Mitiaro (4= of 10 wild animals)
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Food. Comments: A popular food.
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Poisonous to eat - moderate

GENERAL NOTE: Hides during the day in dark recesses on Outer Reef-slope to 10m during the day. At night move through the surge channels to feed on the reef crest and outer reef-flat, especially when the tide is high on dark nights.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Cooks: JU-104. Mangaia: several specimens, College, 9/2000, ID GMcC. Mauke: field-specimen, College collection, 3/2001, ID GMcC. Aitutaki: field-specimen, NBSAP School, 12/2000, ID GM. Pukapuka: informant report, 2/2004, to G.McCormack.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTXmx, zB02, zM04b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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