Rare Two-Colored Lobster Found Off Cape Cod Donated to Science Aquarium
Two-toned crustacean with brown and orange coloring spared from kettle, will go on display when facility reopens
Quick Look
- A rare two-colored lobster with brown on one side and bright orange on the other has been donated to Woods Hole Science Aquarium in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
- The crustacean was caught by fishermen off Cape Cod on April 16 and gifted by Wellfleet Shellfish Company in Eastham.
- The two-toned pattern runs from head to tail, a phenomenon that can occur when two lobster eggs fuse and grow as one animal.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
American lobsters are typically brown but can experience color abnormalities due to gene mutations affecting pigment-binding proteins. Rare color variations include blue, orange, calico, and cotton candy lobsters. Two-colored lobsters occur when two eggs fuse during development.
A rare two-colored lobster has found a home at a science center after a Cape Cod seafood company donated the remarkable crustacean, sparing it from the cooking pot.
The lobster, which is brown on one side and bright orange on the other with the two-toned pattern running from its head to its tail, was caught by fishermen off Cape Cod on April 16. Representatives for Wellfleet Shellfish Company in Eastham, Massachusetts, said Monday they have been fielding inquiries about the crustacean for days.
The company gifted the lobster to Woods Hole Science Aquarium in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and it will be put on public display when the aquarium reopens.
“The lobster is now with Woods Hole Science Aquarium’s animals currently being housed in holding tanks at the Marine Biological Laboratory during the aquarium’s construction period. When the aquarium reopens, the lobster will be on display, offering visitors a rare look at one of the ocean’s most striking natural anomalies,” the shellfish company said in a statement.
Oddly colored lobsters often make their way to New England's docks over the course of the spring and summer, but the two-colored specimen is rarer than most. The American lobster is usually a mottled brown, but they can experience color abnormalities due to gene mutations that affect the proteins that bind to their pigments. Some are blue or orange, some are spotted calico and others are so brightly colored they're called “cotton candy” lobsters.
A two-colored lobster can occur because two lobster eggs fused and grew as one animal, marine sciences professor Markus Frederich of the University of New England in Maine told The Associated Press in 2024. There are estimates about the rarity of different lobster colors, though Frederich has also cautioned that such figures are approximations.
On Cape Cod, Wellfleet Shellfish Company said it's treating the two-colored lobster as a “remarkable and exciting find.”
Open Questions
- How old is the lobster?
- What will be the exact display date?
- How long can the lobster expected to live in captivity?
