Description
In common with other slipper lobsters, Ibacus peronii has a broad, flattened body and a large carapace. The carapace is reddish brown, and reaches lengths of 2–8 centimetres (0.8–3.1 in), with the whole animal able to reach a length of 23 cm (9 in), and a width of 10–14 cm (3.9–5.5 in). The antennae are also short and broad, and the flattened form of the whole animal allows it to partly bury itself in soft substrates. There are no claws on the five pairs of legs. Captured animals typically weigh around 120 grams (4.2 oz), but the weight can range from 80 to 200 g (2.8 to 7.1 oz).
The species is sometimes confused with the Moreton Bay bug, Thenus orientalis, but they can be distinguished by the placement of the eyes: the eyes of I. peronii are near the midline, while those of T. orientalis are at the margin of the carapace.
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“The next Augustan age will dawn on the other side of the Atlantic. There will, perhaps, be a Thucydides at Boston, a Xenophon at New York, and, in time, a Virgil at Mexico, and a Newton at Peru. At last, some curious traveller from Lima will visit England and give a description of the ruins of St Paul’s, like the editions of Balbec and Palmyra.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)