IT IS a question that has been around for at least a decade following the emergence of some articles suggesting the lobsters are immortal.
Yes, lobsters. The red thing with huge pincers resting on a plate in a stereotypical expensive dining setting. Several articles in the past suggest lobsters are immortal because they will not stop growing or ageing.
So, is it true that lobsters can live forever?
Verdict:
FALSE
While it is true that a lobster's growth tends to be on the upswing on a growth chart, they will eventually die.
Lobsters have an indeterminate growth like most decapod crustaceans, including shrimps. They do not have an upper size limit and they will carry on growing until death due to natural causes or predation, among others.
Scientists have also found that on average male lobsters can live up to the age of 31-years-old and females to 54.
Lobsters grow by moulting (or shedding) their exoskeleton. This process is considered to be an arduous task for a lobster which can moult up to 25 times a year when young, before settling on a schedule of about once per year when older.
In 2013, the Smithsonian Magazine quoted Maine Marine Resources Department biologist Carl Wilson, who said that on average 10% to 15% of lobsters die annually while moulting as the process takes up a lot of energy; the exertion is just too taxing for them.
Of course, lobsters can live longer if they can successfully fend off predators and avoid being caught by fishermen, as lobsters have an unending supply of telomerase.
Telomerase is an enzyme which can restore telomeres, which in turn protects the molecules of DNA as cells divide.
For humans, telomeres will work to protect information within DNA during cell division as you age.
However, as a cell divides its telomeres will shorten until it reaches a critical point where there just isn't enough left to prevent your DNA from being damaged. At this point, the cell dies.
That is basically how we humans stop growing physically. However, in the case of lobsters, their telomerase will continuously repair the telomeres during growth.
And as lobsters grow, they moult and moult, leading to exhaustion; this is what leads to its death because it just can't break out of its shell.
So, no. Lobsters are not immortal.
References:
1. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/are-lobsters-immortal.html
3. https://youtu.be/_Jtpf8N5IDE
