By Chris King • Published: 18 Feb 2021 • 2:44
Fisherman Catches A One-In-30 Million YELLOW Lobster. image: twitter
FISHERMAN Catches A One-In-30 Million YELLOW Lobster born with a genetic mutation in shell pigments
Marley Babb, a Tenants Harbor lobsterman in Maine, New England, made an incredible one-in-30 million discovery when he caught a yellow coloured lobster.
This unique crustacean’s colouring, formally known as a ‘crystal lobster,’ is the result of a genetic mutation in the proteins that bond with shell pigments, a condition called leucism that results in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin.
The lobster weighs about a pound to a pound and a half, around the average weight for most normal Maine lobsters, and it has now been donated to the University of New England’s Marine Science Center in Biddeford, where they have christened the lobster ‘Banana’.
Banana’s lighter coloured shell would have made it more visible to predators in its natural habitat under the sea, giving it a lower chance of survival, but the Marine Science Centre (MSC) team insists they have no intention of returning it to the wild.
The New England Marine Centre has been given a government grant of $860,000, which they shared with the Maine Department of Marine Resources and other organizations, for the study of the Gulf Of Maine and how the warming of the water is affecting the lobster larvae and their subsequent development into fully grown crustaceans.
One theory about Banana’s yellow shell is that it might be the result of global warming, after studies in 2019 had found a warming ocean and local differences in oceanography are impacting the lobster populations in southern New England to Atlantic Canada.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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