Αστακός
Homarus gammarus
#nm_0415📍 Greece
- Language
- Greek
- Transliteration
- Astakos
- IPA
- /astaˈkos/
From Ancient Greek ἀστακός astakós (lobster, crayfish); origin uncertain, probably Pre-Greek substrate (Beekes) ↳ In Modern Greek, αστακός astakós is used formally and in fisheries for the true (clawed) lobster Homarus gammarus, while colloquial and restaurant usage extends the same word to the spiny lobster Palinurus elephas
European lobster, a large clawed marine crustacean. Blue-black above and yellowish below, turning red only when cooked; the claws are unequal, a heavy rounded crusher and a sharp-edged cutter. Grows to 60cm and 5-6kg, though most caught are 23-38cm. Shelters in holes and crevices on rocky or hard-mud bottoms of the continental shelf, feeding on crabs, molluscs, sea urchins and worms.
Alternates: ἀστακός (Ancient Greece)
Lent to: Istakoz
⚠️ Often confused with: European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas)