Palinurus (crustacean) should not be confused with Panulirus.
Palinurus is a genus of spiny lobsters in the family Palinuridae, native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and western Indian Ocean. A 110-million-year-old fossil, recognisable as a member of the genus Palinurus, was discovered in a quarry in El Espinal in Mexico's Chiapas state in 1995 and named P. palaciosi.[1] [2]
This is a complete list of extant species:[3]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palinurus barbarae Groeneveld, Griffiths & van Dalsen, 2006[4] | south of Madagascar | ||
| Palinurus charlestoni Forest & Postel, 1964 | Cape Verde spiny lobster | Cape Verde | |
| Palinurus delagoae Barnard, 1926 | Natal spiny lobster | ||
| Palinurus elephas (Fabricius, 1787) | common spiny lobster | eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Morocco and the Azores, and in the Mediterranean Sea | |
| Palinurus gilchristi Stebbing, 1900 | southern spiny lobster | South Africa and Madagascar. | |
| Palinurus mauritanicus Gruvel, 1911 | pink spiny lobster | eastern Atlantic Ocean and the western Mediterranean Sea. | |