The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is one
of the more ecologically and economically important
invertebrates inhabiting the coastal waters of North
America. The publication of this volume marks the
centennial of the first collection of scientific knowledge
dedicated to this species. Francis Hobart
Herrick's monographs (The American Lobster: A
Study of Its Habits and Development, Bull. U.S. Fish
Comm. 15, 1-252, 1895, and Natural History of the
American Lobster, Bull. U.S. Bur. Fish. 29, 149-408,
1909) gathered a wealth of information at a time of
great interest in the biology, management, and culture
of lobsters. Recognizing the accumulation of
information by the late 1970s, J. Stanley Cobb and
Bruce F. Phillips produced a two-volume set on the
various species of both clawed and spiny lobsters
(The Biology and Management of Lobsters, Academic
Press, New York, 1980). The recent volume by B. F.
Phillips, J. S. Cobb, and J. Kittaka (Spiny Lobster
Management, Fishing News Books, Oxford, 1994) considers
fisheries biology, management, and aquaculture
of commercially important spiny lobsters from
around the world.