# How close are lobsters and cockroaches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176 "2018-07-18T23:31:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/1 "2018-07-18T23:31:37Z")
Watching someone eat crab legs, it struck me that if I saw a movie where a different species ate something like that, I’d be disgusted by their eating chunks of giant bugs. So, are lobsters pretty much giant sea cockroaches in terms of anatomy, behavior and niche? Is it the same “template” affected by whether it’s in air/land or sea? ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/2 "2018-07-18T23:32:58Z")
Can lobsters fly? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/3 "2018-07-18T23:48:48Z")
During one of his TV shows, Alton Brown showed a “family tree” indicating that lobsters are not far removed from cockroachs. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/4 "2018-07-19T00:03:58Z")
Looks like cockroaches and lobsters are in the same phylum, Arthropoda, but are in different sub-phylums … for comparison, both fish and humans are in the same phylum, Chordata, but different sub-phylums … Humans are closer to newts (four limbs) than cockroaches are to lobster (exoskeleton) … which is to say not close at all … IMEIO … But bear in mind research continues … ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/5 "2018-07-19T00:20:03Z")
In my mind, the classifications are different - cockroaches and lobsters and snakes all belong to Ickicreepidae, and puppies and bunnies belong to Cuteidae. I think this type of personal classification system is the only reason anybody thinks cockroaches and lobsters have similarities. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/6 "2018-07-19T00:43:31Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Watching someone eat crab legs, it struck me that if I saw a movie where a different species ate something like that, I’d be disgusted by their eating chunks of giant bugs. > > So, are lobsters pretty much giant sea cockroaches in terms of anatomy, behavior and niche? Is it the same “template” affected by whether it’s in air/land or sea? That’s a big leap. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/7 "2018-07-19T00:47:54Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Can lobsters fly? As God is my witness… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/8 "2018-07-19T00:53:44Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > In my mind, the classifications are different - cockroaches and lobsters and snakes all belong to Ickicreepidae, and puppies and bunnies belong to Cuteidae. I think this type of personal classification system is the only reason anybody thinks cockroaches and lobsters have similarities. Lions and tigers are in Runawaydea? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/9 "2018-07-19T01:14:22Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > So, are lobsters pretty much giant sea cockroaches in terms of anatomy, behavior and niche? No, they are not. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/10 "2018-07-19T01:20:54Z")
You mention crabs. It may surprise you that lobsters are more closely related to cockroaches and other insects than they are to some marines animals that are called crabs. Insects and crustaceans (including most marine species called “crab”) are members of the same clade: Pancrustacea. Horseshoe crabs, on the other hand, are in a different clade (Chelicerata) along with the arachnids (spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/11 "2018-07-19T01:32:56Z")
Jim Gaffigan thinks they’re a [giant sea scorpion](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/pt55zr/stand-up-jim-gaffigan---seafood-is-disgusting). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/12 "2018-07-19T01:39:20Z")
The branching point between hexapods and decapods (wherther they can beat a demigod or not) is in excess of 500 million years ago. The first tetrapods were around 400 million years ago. Therefore, cockroaches and lobsters are less closely related than humans and pteranodons. ([Study](https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/insects-are-crustaceans-2/).) (['Nother study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982217305766).) ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/13 "2018-07-19T02:19:22Z")
Generally, several fathoms. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/14 "2018-07-19T02:25:07Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Lions and tigers are in Runawaydea? Exactly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/15 "2018-07-19T02:59:38Z")
I think that in food slang from China, where, unlike in American Chinese cooking, crabs are far more popular than lobster, the latter are referred to as “sea cockroaches.” ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/16 "2018-07-19T11:41:09Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > In my mind, the classifications are different - cockroaches and lobsters and snakes all belong to Ickicreepidae, and puppies and bunnies belong to Cuteidae. I think this type of personal classification system is the only reason anybody thinks cockroaches and lobsters have similarities. and > [@watchwolf49](#): > > Lions and tigers are in Runawaydea? Oh, this is a fun way to highlight how arbitrary our classifications are. Let me put Scarlett Johansson in Ummwannaseehernakedidea, and myself in EwnotevenifIwasdrunkidea, two phyla that most scientists believe are more distantly separated than mammals and viruses. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/17 "2018-07-19T15:11:15Z")
Never forgetting, of course, that a coyote is classified as “nemesis ridiculii”. #ultrasonicusbeepusbeepus ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/18 "2018-07-19T15:17:08Z")
Depends on the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/19 "2018-07-19T19:47:35Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > … I’d be disgusted by their eating chunks of giant bugs. …, meat’s meat and a man’s gotta eat! ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176/20 "2018-07-19T20:27:38Z")
You mean genetically or in flavour? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-close-are-lobsters-and-cockroaches/818176.md?page=2)