Larvae

Overview – Phyllosoma and Puerulus

When the eggs of the western rock lobster hatch, they release into the water column tiny larvae called “phyllosoma” (derived from the Greek words phyllon, leaf, and soma, body). Phyllosoma are carried offshore by wind and water currents, where they spend between 9 and 11 months as plankton, circulating in the open ocean. During this time the phyllosoma develop through nine stages, comprising approximately 15 moults, growing from around 1.8 mm in length at stage one, to 33.9 mm at stage IX. The phyllosoma then metamorphoses into free-swimming puerulus before they swim eastwards to the coast and settle onto the inshore reefs in shallow waters.