This discovery, reported in Nature magazine this week, is the subject of a new display that opened at the UK Science Museum's Antenna exhibition on Thursday.

Sheila Patek of Duke University, North Carolina, reports in Nature that these virtuoso lobsters "bow" in one continuous muscle contraction.

Just as a violinist draws a bow across the string, the spiny lobster rubs a soft flap called the plectrum on the base of its antennae over plates positioned under its eyes. The plectrum alternately sticks and slips, producing pulses of sound.

The resulting pulsating rasp is used to warn off predators. Lobsters usually rely on their tough clad of armor for protection. However, during the molting season when they lose this protective layer, they become more vulnerable to attack. It is at this time that the "violin playing" becomes particularly significant.

"If it turns out that only spiny lobsters produce sound with this mechanism, then I suppose it is a remarkable twist of evolutionary history that such a unique method of sound production arose in just one group of organisms," says Patek.

Henry C. Bennet-Clark of Oxford University commented, "I know of no other example of communication in animals using 'stick and slip.' These lobsters seem to have an advantage over other varieties of crustacea that face similar problems of vulnerability when molting."

The Science Museum's display includes molted lobster shells and can be seen in the Antenna exhibition. Antenna is updated on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis, presenting the latest science and technology news to visitors. The Wellcome Wing is the largest development in the Science Museum's 150-year history and aims to be the world's leading center for the presentation of contemporary science.

11-May-2001