 "Palinurus elephas" is a common genus species of spiny lobster, found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from southern Norway to Morocco and the Azores, and in the Mediterranean Sea, except its eastern extremes.It lives on rocky exposed coasts below the intertidal zone, mainly at depths of .It is named after the ancient Roman Tyrrhenian sea port of Palinurus (modern day Palinuro, Salerno Italy) where they are found in abundance off its promontory.