Thenus

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Thenus orientalis is a slipper lobster found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Common names include the flathead lobster (FAO) and the Moreton Bay bug in Australia; in Singapore it’s sometimes called crayfish.

This species has a very flattened body and can grow up to about 25 cm in total length (carapace up to 8 cm). It can be told apart from the Balmain bug by eye placement: T. orientalis has eyes on the margin of the carapace, while Balmain bugs have eyes near the midline. It lives across the Indo-West Pacific, from the southern Red Sea and Natal to China, the Persian Gulf, southern Japan, and the Philippines, and along northern Australia from Western Australia to Queensland. It is also caught around Malaysia and Singapore.