Are you interested in sexing a lobster? Most people have no clue about whether or not the lobster they've picked out to bring home is a male or a female. It is actually fairly simple to tell the difference! This page will help you learn how to tell a male from a female lobster, so that you can amaze and delight your friends with your superior knowledge.
When you look at a tank full of lobsters swimming around, do you wonder: which are the boy lobsters and which are the girl lobsters? Well, if you're bewildered by how to tell the difference, read on. By the time you finish this page, you'll be ready to drive out to the nearest lobster pound to test your skills at sexing a lobster.
How to Tell a Male from a Female Lobster
This video demonstrates how to "sex" a lobster, or how to tell the gender of a lobster. The expert points out the broader tail, the softer swimmerets of the female, and shows how the female's swimmerets (or feelers as they are called in the video) are crossed. He also mentions that male lobsters actually contain more meat than females, even though the female's tail is broader.
Step 1: Is There a Taste Difference Between Male and Female Lobsters?
Although some chefs maintain that female lobsters taste sweeter, most experts agree that here is no taste difference. The only culinary difference between the sexes is that female lobsters may have roe (AKA lobster caviar), which some people enjoy eating.
Step 2: Look at the Lobster's Tail
- Lay several lobsters out flat on a table. The females will generally have wider and flatter tails than a male. their tails don't necessarily contain more meat; it's just arranged differently. Occasionally you will see eggs attached to the underside of the tail; that's a dead giveaway that you're holding a female lobster.
Step 3: Examine the Lobster's Swimmerets
- The most accurate way to sex a lobster is to examine its swimmerets, which are small appendages that are used to help a lobster move forward. The female lobster's swimmerets contain glands which secrete a substance that helps stick the eggs to her tail.
- Flip the lobster over on its back.
- Look under the lowest set of legs, and locate the swimmerets.
- Touch the swimmerets.
- If they are hard and bony, the lobster is a male.
- If they feel soft and feathery, the lobster is a female.
References
Fast Facts
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Fact:
Female lobsters have wider and flatter tails
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Fact:
Female lobsters may have eggs clinging to the underside of their tails.
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Fact:
Male lobsters have hard and bony swimmerets
