The word 龙虾 (lóngxiā), meaning "lobster", is formed through a direct visual and conceptual analogy: the first character 龙 (lóng) means "dragon", and the second character 虾 (xiā) means "shrimp". It is called a "dragon-shrimp" because the creature's long, segmented body, large claws, and often fierce, armored appearance were thought to resemble the mythical Chinese dragon, while its biological category and aquatic habitat are that of a shrimp.