Rare, Two-Tone Lobster Finds A Home In Woods Hole: Reports

WOODS HOLE, MA — The catch earlier this month for a Cape Cod lobster boat was unusual, to say the least.

Fishing vessel Timothy Michael hauled in a female lobster with a shell of two colors, according to reports – one side of the crustacean’s body is orange-red, the other brown, with the markings divided in a straight line from head to tail.

The two-tone look occurs because of a rare genetic variation found in about 1 of 50 million lobsters, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Service said.

The Wellfleet Shellfish Co., which acquired the lobster from the catch, has donated the animal to the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, where she’ll eventually live and be on exhibit.

“Instead of heading to market, she’s heading somewhere even more special,” the company wrote on social media.

The aquarium is closed for renovations until early next year, so the unnamed lobster has taken up temporary residence at the NOAA Marine Biological Laboratory, across the street.

To read Smithsonian Magazine’s coverage of the lobster find, click here.