Difference Between Lobster and Shrimp

Lobster vs Shrimp
 

Although people lovingly consume these crustaceans, sometimes the lobsters are identified as shrimp due to the inadequate knowledge. They primarily differ in their sizes and shapes, but there are some more interesting variations exhibited between them. Despite those variations, the taste that these two crustaceans could offer after being cooked or prepared in a cuisine is incomparable. However, this article presents the most interesting differences between shrimp and lobster after exploring their characteristics.

Lobster

Lobsters are marine crustaceans with large bodies. They are sometimes found around brackish waters, as well. Lobsters are classified under the Family: Nephropidae of Order: Decapoda and Class: Malacostraca. There are many types of them known as clawed lobsters, spiny lobsters, and slipper lobsters. They all sum up to make 48 extant species described under 12 genera. As the name of the included taxonomic order ‘Decapoda’ indicates, each lobster has 10 walking legs with the first three from the anterior end bearing claws. They have a good, efficient sensory system with antennae and antennules, which is important especially for those living in brackish water. Lobsters have a very hard exoskeleton made of chitin. Their body size could be as high as 50 centimetres long, which is a very large size for an invertebrate. Lobsters have a worldwide distribution, living in all the seas except in the polar waters. They mostly prefer to live in the continental shelf including rocky, muddy, or sandy bottoms. Their hard and calcified exoskeleton is shed when they are ready to grow their body size. This shed exoskeleton is a good source of calcium for them to harden their skin, and they eat it after shedding. However, they are mainly omnivorous in feeding habits and eat both phytoplankton and zooplankton. Therefore, the lobsters taste differently depending on what they eat, when they are cooked. It is a very highly priced food both as raw meat and prepared food.

Shrimp

Shrimps are a highly diversified group of decapod crustaceans. They are excellent swimmers living in all the seas of the world except the polar waters. There are more than 125 species of shrimps described under many genera under the Infraorder: Caridae. Shrimps can live in many types of waters including brackish water, freshwater, and saltwater. Their ability to tolerate high levels of toxicity is a great advantage for them to evade their predators. Their head and thorax are fused to form the cephalothorax, which is covered with the carapace. Some of their specific features such as the lengths of the legs, antennae, colour, and others vary across the species. However, the main body plan is unique for all species. The length of a shrimp barely goes beyond 20 centimetres and mostly it measures around 10 centimetres. Shrimps are ecologically very important in many ways including as a food source for many of the zooplankton from fish to whales. Shrimps are extremely rich in calcium, iodine, and protein. In fact, people pay much more for shrimp than for other meat because of the high richness in protein and the great taste.