About Panulirus longipes (A.Milne-Edwards, 1868)
Panulirus longipes reaches a maximum total length of around 30 cm (12 in), with a more typical adult size ranging from 20 to 25 cm (8 to 10 in) and a maximum carapace length of 10 cm (4 in). Its overall body color is dark brown or bluish-brown, with many circular white spots on the abdomen, and fewer such white spots on other regions of the body. The legs bear pale longitudinal stripes, and sometimes have a single white spot near the tip. Panulirus longipes is native to the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific. Its distribution ranges from Madagascar and the east coast of Africa eastward to Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northern Australia. This species occurs on rocky reefs and coral reefs, most commonly at depths shallower than around 18 m (59 ft), though it has been found as deep as 122 m (400 ft) in exceptional cases. There are two recognized subspecies: P. l. longipes occurs from East Africa to Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, while P. l. bispinosus occurs in Japan, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, New Caledonia, and the east coast of Australia.
