Palinurus barbarae

{{Short description|Species of crustacean}}

{{Speciesbox

| status = DD

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Cockcroft, A. |date=2011 |title=Palinurus barbarae |volume=2011 |page=e.T185008A8345918 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T185008A8345918.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}

| taxon = Palinurus barbarae

| authority = {{nowrap|Groeneveld, Griffiths & van Dalsen, 2006}}

}}

Palinurus barbarae is a species of spiny lobster described in 2006, which was found by fishermen working the waters above the Walters Shoals, a series of submerged mountains {{convert|700|km|mi}} south of Madagascar.{{cite web |url=http://www.uct.ac.za/mondaypaper/archives/?id=5949 |title=New giant lobster species from the Madagascar Ridge |publisher=University of Cape Town |date=October 9, 2006}}{{cite news |url=http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=vn20060911124033180C132628 |title=Scientists find new giant lobster species |author=John Yeld |date=September 11, 2006 |publisher=Cape Argus |page=3}} The animal weighs {{convert|4|kg|lb}} and reaches up to {{convert|40|cm|in}} long excluding the long antennae, and is similar to P. delagoae, found off South Africa, from which it may be differentiated by a number of characters including the larger number of spines.{{cite journal |title=A new species of spiny lobster, Palinurus barbarae (Decapoda, Palinuridae) from Walters Shoals on the Madagascar Ridge |journal=Crustaceana |volume=79 |issue=7 |year=2006 |pages=821–833 |author=Groeneveld, J. C. |author2=C. L. Griffiths |author3=A. P. van Dalsen |name-list-style=amp |doi=10.1163/156854006778008177}} There are fears that the species, which lives in an area outside any country's jurisdiction, may now be exploited, or that it has already been brought near to extinction by overfishing.