I like lobsters. They are somewhat dinosaurian in appearance, don’t you think? It pleases me every time I see them on offer in Palma’s Mercat de l’Olivar, for instance. But then I get confused because I don’t know what Langostas are as opposed to Bogavantes. Do I like both crustaceans, or which one is which? Do they both get caught here around the island of Mallorca, or do they come from the Atlantic Ocean?

Bogavantes are known in the English language as the European lobster or Common lobster (Homarus gammarus). The ones sold in Palma’s markets are predominantly caught in the Atlantic waters around Galicia, even though they live along the Moroccan coast as well, and in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. They are the ones with the big, fat claws. They are commonly sold live with their claws restrained by elastic bands. Occasionally you can buy them live and swimming in a tank without any harness, such as shown here (photo top). Bogavantes are sold these days for between 32 € and 48 €, but they can go up to 70 € at times.

The spiny variety is called Langosta in Spain, known in English as Spiny lobster, rock lobster or Langouste (Panulirus interruptus). Langostas sold here mostly come from Mallorcan waters; they currently retail for between 22 € and 35 €, but they can go up to 60 €, sometimes.

The photos were taken in Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: July 10th, 2012. The time was 13:33:51 and 13:23:26, respectively.