Fisherman Robinson Russell has been fishing for over 20 years, but he wasn't quite prepared for what he saw in one lobster haul off Grand Manan Island in Canada. Mixed in with the other lobsters was one stunning crustacean with a translucent blue-pink shell. Dubbed a “cotton candy” lobster, Russell donated his find—which he named Lucky—to the Huntsman Marine Science Center in New Brunswick, Canada.
Lobsters, which only turn red when cooked, can have a lot of color variations on their shells. In fact, Russell had previously pulled blue, yellow, and bright orange lobsters from the same waters. There even exists calico and split tone lobsters, but the chances of spotting those are 1 in 30 million and 1 in 50 million, respectively, according to the University of Main Lobster Institute. But, Lucky is quite rare. While some sources say that lobsters with coloration like Lucky's are found every 4 or 5 years, marine biologists told TIME that the lobster appeared similar to an albino—making it a 1 in 100 million find.
So why is Lucky's shell such a special color? According to Cynthia Callahan, manager of the Huntsman Marine Science Center, it could be due to a genetic mutation that causes different pigments in the shell to be expressed. Of course, the coloration makes camouflage difficult, which only adds to the lobster's rarity.
Happily for Lucky, he'll be safe and sound at the Huntsman, where he'll live out the rest of his life.
Watch the cotton candy lobster in action at its new home at the Huntsman Marine Science Center.
h/t: [Mental Floss]
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