AnimalsCoral Reef
Spiny lobster Fun facts for kids
Panulirus versicolor
The spiny lobster lives on reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and eats snails, clams and small crabs.
- Where it lives
- on reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans
- What it eats
- snails, clams and small crabs
- How big it is
- about the size of a big shoe
Fun facts about the spiny lobster
The ones Sammy likes best. She tells them in the game, too.
It makes a creaky, squeaky noise by rubbing its feelers against its head, which can scare away hungry fish.
To escape danger, it flips its tail and zooms backward through the water.
Its two long, spiky feelers can be even longer than its whole body.
Its babies are flat and see-through, and they float in the ocean for months before finding a reef.
To grow bigger, it wriggles out of its hard shell, then hides while its new shell is still soft.
When it hides in a crack in the reef, its long feelers often stay poking out.
Unlike many lobsters, it has no big pinching claws at all.
Riddle
Can a friend guess it?
Read the clues to someone, one at a time, without saying the animal. How many clues do they need? Fewer is better, just like in the game.
I live in warm, clear seas and spend my days hiding in cracks in the reef.
When I was a baby, I was flat and see-through and floated in the ocean for months.
To grow, I wriggle out of my hard shell, then hide until my new one gets hard.
I can scare off hungry fish by rubbing my feelers against my head to make a creaky noise.
I have ten legs, no big claws, blue-green stripes and very long spiky feelers.
Sammy might be thinking of a spiny lobster.
In Thought Zoo, Sammy picks an animal and you ask her yes-or-no questions to find it. You'll find the spiny lobster in the Coral Reef adventure.
Play the Coral ReefComing to iPad, iPhone and Android on 12 January 2027
