Two-Tone Lobster: The Goober of the Sea

The two-halves of a lobster’s shell grow independently of each other, leading to the rare occasion when a pigment defect affects only half a shell. This particular specimen was caught by lobsterman Alan Robinson in Dyer’s Bay, Maine, who rightly thought, “somebody was playing a joke on me.”

In case you’re wondering, it’s the left-hand side that’s colored naturally. Lobsters don’t turn the familiar reddish-orange until they’ve been cooked—something we’re going to be talking about more in the near future, once recreational lobster season opens.

The chances of finding a two-toned lobster are estimated to be around 1 in 50 million, fifty times more rare than the odds of finding a blue lobster.

Maine man pulls up rare two-toned lobster [MSNBC/AP]