Japanese spiny lobster
Amazing fact
Japanese spiny lobsters have crosswise grooves with straight edges on their abdominal segments.
Naturalis Biodiversity Center
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Japanese spiny lobsters have crosswise grooves with straight edges on their abdominal segments.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Japanese spiny lobster
- Scientific name
- Panulirus japonicus
- Japanese name
- イセエビ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Malacostraca
- Order
- Decapoda
- Family
- Palinuridae
- Genus
- Panulirus
A lobster that lives on rocky bottoms in shallow seas. Besides Japan, it is also found in places such as Korea and Taiwan.
Its whole body is a deep reddish brown, and its legs have thin yellowish stripes.
It is said to be named after Ise, where many were caught. It also has another name, 'Kamakura-ebi'.
Basic data
- Range
- Western Pacific, Japan, Korea, East China Sea, China, and Taiwan
Where the Japanese spiny lobster has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- イセエビ
- 简体中文
- 日本龙虾
- 繁體中文
- 日本龍蝦
- 한국어
- 닭새우
- Español
- Langosta japonesa
- Français
- Langouste japonaise
- Português (Brasil)
- Lagosta-costeira-japonêsa
- Italiano
- Aragosta giapponese
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center — Marine Lobsters of the World: Panulirus japonicusChecked: 2026-11-03
- 鳥羽水族館 — イセエビChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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