Whether you call them Spiny lobsters, langouste or rock lobsters, they are different from the Maine lobster in that they do not have the same formidable claws. They are still a commercially valuable seafood, and are the biggest food export of the Bahamas. They are sometimes referred to as sea crayfish, crayfish, or crawfish - not to be confused with the freshwater crayfish.

Spiny lobsters can be easily distinguished from true lobsters by their very long, thick, spiny antennae, by the lack of claws. True lobsters have much smaller antennae and claws on the first three pairs of legs, with the first being particularly enlarged.