1 In 10 Million Rare Lobster Lands In Westborough Grocery Store

WESTBOROUGH, MA—A lobster came into the Roche Bros. Supermarket in Westborough last week that is so rare, they're not going to sell it. The lobster, as the store posted on its Facebook page, has a genetic anomaly that shows up in 1 in every 10 million lobsters, which makes them orange, blue, calico or white.

Roche Bros. is donating the orange lobster to the New England Aquarium where the animal - which is likely 7-9 years old - will likely be included in a future exhibit there or at an aquarium in Japan.

Roche Bros. sells roughly 200,000 of lobsters each year across its 20 stores. Staff remembers about 15 years ago receiving a blue lobster, which is the most common of the "uncommons."

This distinctly orange lobster currently at was from a shipment from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. It weighs about 1 2/3 pounds, said the New England Aquarium.

The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine estimates that orange lobsters occur naturally at an incidence of in 1 in 30 million. Most orange lobsters have a mottled mix of orange and black, but this male lobster is predominantly pumpkin-like in his color.

According to the announcement, this lobster has to be a wily character to have reached his age, given his DayGlo appearance in the briny, dark and deep Atlantic ocean. The color would be like a neon flashing sign to predators.

"He deserves much credit to have survived," said an Aquarium spokesperson.

Photo Credit: New England Aquarium