If you happen to spot a blue lobster that looks something like it came out of the hit cartoon ‘The Smurfs’, consider yourself lucky! This rare mutation in lobsters occurs with just one in 2 million lobsters.
Scientists believe that the reason behind the cobalt blue crustacean is a genetic defect that causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of protein. The combination of the protein and astaxanthin, an antioxidant in the food they eat, results in their shells favoring a blue pigment rather than the normal brownish color. Unfortunately though, blue lobsters get eaten by predators fairly quickly, because of their unique color, making them all the more rare to find. They would be better off with a bulls eye painted on them.
Some aquariums like the New England & Atlantis aquariums and SeaWorld at San Diego are said to a have resident blue lobsters that draw a lot of attention.
What’s even rarer than the said Blue Lobsters that have an occurrence of only 1 in 30 million are yellow lobsters and Albino lobsters estimated at one in 100 million!
*Photo Credits: photos by Tomer Arazy, tamedblossom, wiccked, rjzii on flickr. Steven G. Johnson on wikimedia Commons. Albino Lobster from BaconBabble.com
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Ahhh but does it turn pink when you boil it??
Pink or not, it looks delicious…!
That's what SHE said.
Old news, in pokémon they call this shiny
LOL!
I was not aware there were blue lobsters. They look neat.
Benjamin Koshkin
Found out recently that their two claws are different.
One is a saw and the other is for cracking mussels etc open.
Neat evolutionary trick
Genetic Mutation? or are they just SHINEYS!?
I had one as a pet!! They are beautiful
those first pictures look more like Australian yabbies which are naturally blue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yabby
Problem is, shinies are much more common (1 in 8192, not 2 million).
Previous comment was @Rutger.
@rutget: it’s called holographic. duh.
Here in Newport, RI, we’ve seen blue lobsters now and then over the years, but a couple of weeks ago, a super-rare calico lobster was discovered in a restaurant’s lobster tank and donated to our local seaquarium!
If I were a lobster it would be cool to be blue, you know. Except for the part about becoming more prone to be lunch.
Great article, and actually I had never heard of blue lobsters before, so it was interesting.
@nemba: In the actual pokemon video games, the different color pokemon are called shiny. The CARD GAME is holographic. If you’re going to correct someone, do it right
i live in south lousiana, an do believe that the first picture is a Crayfish or aka " crawfish,mudbugg,crawdad" which is similar Too ,sam's Australian yabbies..
I dont believe the blue is anything other then a genetic heritage of a recessive gene that causes the pigmentation to be blue for some odd reason. I say this only bc my grandfather was a fisherman and would breed the blue crayfish together an sell them as common pets.
great post on wildlife though….
i would also like too see this super-rare calico lobster !
as far as rarity goes, blue lobsters are actually on the more commonly occuring end of the peculiarly-hued-lobster spectrum. Having spent the better part of six years working in fish markets and lobster warehouses in southern NH and Maine, I have encountered a blue lobster, albino, bright orange, speckled, and other types of unusual shell pattern. I think the most rare is the red lobster, meaning that the lobster is bright red as if it has been cooked, but still alive.
Also yes the claws are known as the crusher claw and the scissor claw. Most lobsters are "right handed" meaning that the crusher claw is the right claw. Lobsters are banded both out of concern for the fingers of fish mongers,and because they are cannibalistic. Lobsters weighing around a pound each are know as chickens or chix, and are then categorized (and priced) by quarter pound increments (lobsters in the 2 to 3 pound range are also called selects). I once sold a jumbo (six pounds and up) that tipped the scales at 22 1/2 pounds ( it cost 160 dollars).
i get they're rare, but is it 1 in 2,000,000 or 1 in 30,000,000?
Yes…they all turn red when you boil them.
The New England Aquarium in Boston DOES have a blue lobster. I've seen it.
Wow awesome!
they're so rare! let's take them out of the ocean, hold them in our arms, take pictures with them, and let them die! one in a hundred million, baby, 1 in 100,000,000.
they would die quicker in the wild anyway. why not take the opportunity to document the existence of such a magnificent specimen?
it's blue because it's cold and sad
We saw one in Groton, Connecticut. Our friend who took us there got very irate when I said, "Bet they turn red when you throw them in a pot of boiling water." Guess he thought I was being sacreligious.
I've seen a YELLOW lobster at super store! If only we bought it we would have been rich, I tell you rich!
There are alot of blue crayfish in Lake Vermillion in the Boundrey Waters of Minnesota and Canada.