Panulirus penicillatus is common at Kwajalein but is not often seen by divers. These live primarily in caves and ledges within the groove and spur system of the shallow windward reef, right under where the waves break on the edge of the reef, and where the second photo below was shot. It takes a very calm day to dive this zone. However, the lobsters crawl up onto the intertidal reef flat at night to feed. Here they can be found by people walking the reef at night, so this is the local spiny lobster species most often caught for consumption. They reach about 40cm, although most are smaller. The first photo below is by Stan Jazwinski from the seaward reef.
The next two photos show a Panulirus penicillatus (on the left) from the Hawaiian Islands. The spiny lobster at right is an endemic Hawaiian species, Panulirus marginatus, which does not occur in the Marshall Islands.
Created 26 June 2018
Updated 4 August 2018