The spiny rock lobster, is a species of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. They resemble true lobsters, but lack the large characteristic pincers on the first pair of walking legs. They can be dark red and orange above with paler yellowish abdomens or grey-green brown with the paler underside. Adult carapaces can grow up to 230 millimetres in length and can often exceed 10 kilograms in less fished areas.

They live on reefs at depths ranging from 5–275 metres

Spiny rock lobsters are carnivorous and nocturnal

Rock lobsters crawl on the bottom or swim backwards by flexing their tail sharply from extended to beneath the body. They are relatively active ocean-bottom explorers and feed on shellfish, crabs, small fish and sea urchins. Crayfish 'moult' their shells to allow new growth, mating is linked to moulting and occurs not long after. Crayfish have the ability to regrow lost limbs over a series of moults. Adults are sexually mature at between 7 and 11 years, mating occurs during late summer and autumn. Eggs develop on females, which carry between 100,000 and 500,000 eggs which are fertilised and held below the tail on hairs on the female’s abdomen. The eggs develop here for 3 to 5 months. Eggs then metamorphose into naupliosoma larva which leave the female and are free swimming plankton which migrate towards the surface where they moult into a phyllosoma larva.