Juvenile Southern Rock Lobster

This juvenile rock lobster is just a few cm long! Initially these juveniles spend 12-24 months in a larval stage out at sea, often beyond the continental shelf, hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from where they left their mother. Once they gain size and strength to swim, they travel from the deep ocean currents into the coastal reefs where they who grow into an adult lobster. Finding reef triggers them to moult and this is when they get their beautiful pigmentation. Only a tiny percent reach this stage, and even fewer will become adults.