Consider the Lobster

Question 1

Ramekins

Answer 1

noun
a small dish for baking and serving an individual portion of food.

“The winner of Friday’s Amateur Cooking Competition prepares Saffron Lobster Ramekins, the recipe for which is available for public downloading at www.mainelobsterfestival.com.”
- “Consider the Lobster” pg 54

Question 2

Homaridae

Answer 2

a family of decapod crustaceans (tribe Astacura) comprising the large-clawed lobsters.

“Taxonomically speaking, a lobster is a marine crustacean of the family Homaridae, characterized by five pairs of jointed legs, the first pair terminating in large pincerish claws used for subduing prey.”
- “Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 3

pincer

Answer 3

noun (usu. pincers) (also a pair of pincers )
a tool made of two pieces of metal bearing blunt concave jaws that are arranged like the blades of scissors, used for gripping and pulling things.
• a front claw of a lobster, crab, or similar crustacean.

“Taxonomically speaking, a lobster is a marine crustacean of the family Homaridae, characterized by five pairs of jointed legs, the first pair terminating in large pincerish claws used for subduing prey.”
- “Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 4

benthos

Answer 4

noun
the flora and fauna found on the bottom, or in the bottom sediments, of a sea, lake, or other body of water.

“Like many other species of benthic carnivore, lobsters are both hunters and scavengers.”
- “Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 5

Homarus americanus

Answer 5

the Maine lobster

Question 6

locust

Answer 6

noun
1 a large and mainly tropical grasshopper with strong powers of flight. It is usually solitary, but from time to time there is a population explosion, and it migrates in vast swarms that cause extensive damage to crops.

“The name ‘lobster’ comes from the Old English loppestre, which is thought to be a corrupt form of the latin word for locust combined with the Old English loppe, which meant spider.”
“Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 7

crustacea

Answer 7

a large group of mainly aquatic arthropods that include crabs, lobsters, shrimps, wood lice, barnacles, and many minute forms. They are very diverse, but most have four or more pairs of limbs and several other appendages.

"Moreover, a crustacean is an aquatic arthropod of the class Crustacea, which comprises crabs, shrimp, barnacles, lobsters, and freshwater crayfish."
"Consider the Lobster" pg 55

Question 8

arthropod

Answer 8

any of a phylum (Arthropoda) of invertebrate animals (as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) that have a segmented body and jointed appendages, a usually chitinous exoskeleton molted at intervals, and a dorsal anterior brain connected to a ventral chain of ganglia

“And an arthropod is an invertebrate member of the phylum Arthropoda, which phylum covers insects, spiders, crustaceans, and centipedes/millipedes, all of whose main commonality, besides the absence of a centralized brain-spine assembly, is a chitinous exoskeleton composed of segments, to which appendages are articulated in pairs.”
“Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 9

chitin

Answer 9

a horny polysaccharide (C8H13NO5)n that forms part of the hard outer integument especially of insects, arachnids, and crustaceans

“And an arthropod is an invertebrate member of the phylum Arthropoda, which phylum covers insects, spiders, crustaceans, and centipedes/millipedes, all of whose main commonality, besides the absence of a centralized brain-spine assembly, is a chitinous exoskeleton composed of segments, to which appendages are articulated in pairs.”
“Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 10

integument

Answer 10

noun

a tough outer protective layer, esp. that of an animal or plant.

Question 11

polysaccharide

Answer 11

nounBiochemistry
a carbohydrate (e.g., starch, cellulose, or glycogen) whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together

Question 12

Jurrassic

Answer 12

(from 201.3± 0.6 Ma (million years ago) to 145± 4 Ma) of, relating to, or being the period of the Mesozoic era between the Triassic and the Cretaceous or the corresponding system of rocks marked by the presence of dinosaurs and the first appearance of birds

Question 13

luxe

Answer 13

adjective
expensive and of high quality; luxurious

“In fact, one obvious project of the MLF, and of its omnipresently sponsorial Maine Lobster Promotion Council, is to counter the idea that lobster is unusually luxe or rich or unhealthy or expensive, suitable only for effete palates or the occassional blow-the-diet treat.”
- “Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 14

effete

Answer 14

adjective
(of a person) affected, overrefined, and ineffectual: effete trendies from art college.

• “Consider the Lobster” pg 55

Question 15

herring

Answer 15

noun
a silvery fish that is most abundant in coastal waters and is of great commercial importance as a food fish in many parts of the world.
“lobster traps are usually bated with dead herring.”

Question 16

Segmentation (biology)

Answer 16

The concept of segmentation in biology relies upon the ability for organisms to duplicate organs and structural elements, such as arms and legs. Each segment plays a significant role that relies upon other functions to work. For example, humans consist of heteromeric segmentation, in which each segment differs from another and fulfills a specific role. Homomeric segmentation refers to segments that contain similar elements, such as with the segments in an Errantia, a type of worm.

Without segmentation, organisms would lack sophisticated means of movement and complex body structures that enable advanced functions. Segmentation provides the means for an organism to travel and protect its sensitive organs from damage. The ability to divide functions into different portions of the body allows an organism to perform increasingly complex activities and use different segments to perform varying functions.