Lobster removing its old shell (time-lapse)

According to Wikipedia, lobsters are marine crustaceans with long bodies with muscular tails, and have five pairs of legs wherein three of these pairs have claws. They belong to a class of animals without backbones and with hard shells like crab, shrimp, crayfish, water fleas and wood lice.

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An amazing footage of a Lobster slowly removing its old shell

They are highly prized as seafood and are used in soup, bisque, lobster rolls, and cappon magro. Cooks boil or steam live lobsters hence they are often kept in aquariums on restaurants. But did you know that lobsters grow by molting?

Molting is the process wherein these animals shed their shells. However, a website called Vegan Peace explained that before...

...they shed the old shell, they will form a thin one underneath. When molting, they secrete enzymes that soften the shell and connective joints. Lobsters will then struggle out of their old shell while simultaneously absorbing water which expands their body size. This process takes about 15 minutes. Each time they molt, they will increase their size about 20%.

The video is an actual footage of a lobster shedding its old shell. You might jump at 3:50 because that's where the action starts.

The lobster successfully sheds its old shell and it's pretty amazing to watch. And fun fact: lobsters will eat voraciously after molting and they often eat their old shell to replenish the lost calcium and speed up the hardening of the new shell.

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