Americans on the wrong side – the lobster Homarus americanus captured in Norwegian waters

Closer inspection confirmed that the two individuals first registered showed a series of American characteristics, as a ventral tooth on the rostrums, longer and sharper teeth inside the cutter claw and the typical greenish-brown colour common in American lobsters. Tissue sample from additional four specimens were analysed by starch gel electrophoresis and all possessed new alleles, never reported in European lobster before, at several allozyme loci. These alleles correspond to common alleles in American lobsters as demonstrated in a reference sample. Origin and time of invasion of the American lobsters are suggested, as well as possible ecological interactions and influence on the original lobster population when invaded by this competitor.

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