Are Lobster Related To Cockroaches?

People often say that lobsters are related to cockroaches. You probably heard that too just like me, but is that true? Are they related, or is it a myth?

So are lobster related to cockroaches? Lobsters are crustacean and cockroaches are an insect. They had the same ancestor millions of years ago, i.e. they are both arthropods. That’s why they have a few behavioral and biological similarities. You can say that they are related, but they are definitely not the same. They evolved very differently.

Little Bit About Lobster And Cockroach

Although cockroach and lobster are entirely different, they share a few similarities because they had a common ancestor, i.e. Arthropod. A cockroach has a tough protective exoskeleton, which is also present in the lobster.

It protects them from minor injuries and gives some protection against predators. Cockroach and lobster are both omnivorous, scavengers and cannibal, i.e. both of them eat almost anything, both of them eats dead food, and both of them are seen to eat their own species.

Lobster sense their environment with their antenna. They can sense the temperature, pressure and various kinds of things. This type of antenna is seen in cockroaches and also in some insects. This gives them a great understanding of their environment. 

Lobster is much bigger than a cockroach. Lobster are eaten worldwide, and whereas cockroach is only consumed in a few parts of our world. Cockroach lives in dirty places like drains, sewers etc. but since shrimp only lives in water, they don’t have such options to live.

Lobster Are Crustaceans

Crustaceans are those species that have a hard shell that protect themselves against minor injuries and predators, and they live in the water. There are various species in the crustaceans, and lobster is one of them. Crustaceans evolved from Arthropod millions of years ago.

Cockroach, on the other hand, are from the subphylum of the hexapod. They live on land and eats whatever they can get. This is the primary difference between cockroach and lobster. Since they belong to different subphylum, it means they are entirely different species. So, they are not that much related apart from the fact they had the same phylum, i.e. Arthropod. Lobster is more related to crabs than they are to a cockroach.

Why People Think Lobster And Cockroach Are Related

This is primarily due to misinformation. There is a lot of misinformation regarding this. People often talk about it. There is one reason that stands out among others, and that is both of them are omnivorous and scavengers. Both lobster and cockroaches are seen to consume dead food, and both of them have many legs.

Structurally there are few similarities, so people assume they are similar. The only similarities they have are both of them have the same ancestor millions of years ago, i.e. Arthropod, and both of them have the protective exoskeleton.

This trait that has passed down to both of them because both of them had the same ancestors. Apart from that, they are not very similar. You can say that they are related but they definitely not the same. They are different species.

Lobster And Cockroach Habitat

One of the factors that differentiate lobster from a cockroach is their habitat. Lobster live in various kinds of places from ocean to sea. They love to live in muddy, sandy and rocky areas underneath the water body. This allows them to hide from predators and also helps them to make a sneak attack on their prey. A rocky area is a great hiding spot for a lobster.

Whenever a lobster sees a predator, it gets inside the rock, and that stops many predators from attacking the lobster, on the other hand, it provides a great hiding spot for the lobster. Whenever a prey comes close to the rocks or tries to enter it the lobster attack and catches its prey. This increases the success rate.

Cockroach, on the other hand, lives on land inside sewers or some other dirty places. They live in groups, and they usually feed on dead things. They are sometimes seen to eat small insects. Cockroach is intelligent, so they typically come out whenever we are sleeping and they eat whatever they can.

Cockroach loves moist and dark places, so if you have that kind of places inside your house, then cockroach can hide over there. There are various kinds of cockroaches, and a large portion of them lives in the wild, but the hiding spot remains the same. They like moist and dark places so whatever fits that conditions they hide over there in the wild.

An Exceptional Difference Between Cockroach And Lobster

Cockroach

Cockroach lives on land, and they also have an exoskeleton that protects them against minor injuries. Cockroaches are omnivorous. They have six legs which allow them to move around. They also have wings which allow them to fly around.

They have a spiky leg that can feel like spikes if they walk on you, but those are not harmful to humans, but those legs allow them to defend against other insects that attack them. Cockroaches are resilient creatures, i.e. they don’t die very quickly.

They have an antenna that allows them to sense their surrounding in a very profound way. Cockroaches don’t have any claws that can protect them or can help them to hunt their prey. A cockroach can survive up to seven days even after losing their head.

It is possible because cockroach doesn’t have the blood pressure that we humans have, so once their head is cut or detached from their body, the blood doesn’t keep flowing out. The cockroach will die because it cannot get the necessary food nor the fluid to drinks, eventually killing the cockroach.

If they could get the food and water from some source, they could have survived much longer. This is a unique trait present only in a cockroach. Cockroaches are also good learners. If something has injured them previously in some way, they learn what caused it and avoids it, and then they transfer it to their next generation.

This is a unique ability. From an evolutionary standpoint, it increases their survival to a great extent. Unfortunately for us, it is the reason why it is so difficult to kill a cockroach because they keep on learning and stops making the same mistake. In a word, they become intelligent, the more struggle they face. It’s a form of evolution.

So, the next generation of cockroach will be quite smarter from the previous generation having new behavioral traits. This thing is unique to a cockroach. Although their brain size is not that big, these abilities are fascinating, and lobster doesn’t have these abilities. This is one of the huge difference. So, you can say cockroach is entirely different than lobsters.

Lobster

Lobster claws are another of the distinct feature that separates them from a cockroach. A cockroach doesn’t have claws like a lobster. It has legs that they use to walk around, which is also present in lobster. These claws allow the lobster to hunt and kill its prey. They have powerful claws that can break small crabs protective shells.

Lobster uses their claws to catch and eat different kinds of fishes, crabs, shrimps etc. Since lobster is omnivorous, they can eat almost anything. If they feel threatened in any way, they will use this powerful claws against them.

These claws are very efficient in defending, and if someone gets caught inside them, then it can cause severe damage to them. However, these claws are not very effective against big predators like sharks, as they can easily devour them. 

Lobster And Cockroach Lifespan

A cockroach is said to live up to 1 year, and then they die. Now, this lifespan may vary depending upon how many predators are there in a particular environment. If there are too many predators, then the average lifespan can reduce. The average lifespan can change depending upon environmental and other factors, but this is just an average to long they live.

On the other Lobster are said to live up to 35 years for male and 55 years for female. Their age is still under study because there is are specimens that are seen to live for 70 years or more. The exact age of lobster is still unknown, but this is the average age that can be seen on many lobsters.

There can be many environmental factors that can alter this number to a great extent. Lobsters grow throughout their life so they can become huge as they ages. The more aged a lobster is, the more massive it will be. There are big specimens of lobster, and they are considered to be more than 70 years in an age which proves that they can live much longer than the estimated lifespan.

How Lobster Helps In Cleaning Environment

Lobsters are omnivorous, and they can eat anything. They can eat dead animals, dead fish, poop and whatever that can get. This helps to keep the environment clean. There is a lot of dead fish, and dead animal and somebody has to do the job. These creatures just do the job to their best and keep the water clean.

These are easy food for them since they don’t have to fight and waste their energy. They can simply grab the creature and eat it. If the dead creature is big then, of course, it will take time, but if it is small, then they can just devour it quickly. If the dead creature is large, they can take up to days to consume the whole meal.