Lobster Colors and Rarity
The rarest lobster color is white, also called albino. White lobsters lack pigment in their shells due to genetic mutations, and the chances of finding an albino lobster are about one in 100 million. Blue lobsters result from a genetic mutation that causes the blue color. Split-colored varieties, also known as “bicolor lobsters,” have two distinct colors on the shell and odds of one in 50 million. Other rare colors include red, yellow, orange, calico, cotton candy, and rainbow. Lobsters attain their natural brownish color from astaxanthin pigments in their shells. Some lobsters sport unique colors like electric blue with odds of one in 2 million. In 2016, a Massachusetts lobsterman found a blue lobster, catching media attention.
Value of Lobsters
The rarest lobster is white, called albino. White lobsters lack pigment in shells due to genetic mutations. Finding an albino lobster has odds of one in 100 million. Blue lobsters result from a genetic mutation causing the blue color, with odds of one in 2 million. Split-colored varieties, also known as “bicolor lobsters,” have two distinct colors on the shell and odds of one in 50 million.
Rarity of White Lobsters
The rarest lobster is white, called albino. White lobsters lack pigment in shells due to genetic mutations. Finding an albino lobster has odds of one in 100 million. Blue lobsters result from a genetic mutation causing the blue color, with odds of one in 2 million. Split-colored varieties have two distinct colors on the shell, with odds of one in 50 million.
Lobsters get their natural brownish color from astaxanthin pigments in their shells that change to red when cooked. An albino lobster caught in 2021 lacks pigment, the rarest at one in 100 million. The split-colored lobster has two colors on its shell from genetic mutations producing astaxanthin pigments that change from greenish brown to red when cooked.