Maine’s rarest lobster finds new home just in time for Halloween
Maine: A ghost-white lobster so rare that the odds of finding one are 1 in 100 million has a new home – and a new job.
The crustacean, nicknamed ‘Casper’, has been welcomed to the University of New England’s Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center after being donated by the Maine State Aquarium in Boothbay.
Casper will be part of the school’s first-of-its-kind study into the genetic causes behind rare lobster colouration. The research collection has previously included orange, blue, yellow, purple, calico, and even split-coloured lobsters.
Led by Markus Frederich, Ph.D., professor of marine sciences and director of the Invertebrate Physiology Lab, researchers are working to uncover the molecular mechanisms that cause some American lobsters to develop dramatically different shell colours from the species’ typical mottled brown appearance.
“The research program uses noninvasive methods to collect and analyze genetic material without harming the lobsters, so Casper will be studied without injury,” the university said in its media release.
UNE launched the effort in 2024 after several rare-coloured lobsters arrived at the Girard Marine Science Center, including Peaches, an orange lobster estimated to occur in just 1 in 30 million animals.
Peaches later produced offspring ranging in colour from typical brown to orange and blue, giving researchers an unusual opportunity to study how rare colouration may be inherited. The team has since collected genetic samples from the juveniles and is analyzing more than 15,000 genes to identify differences associated with shell colour.
Casper’s donation was coordinated by UNE alum Rue Motulsky, whose work on the DNA project as a student has led to new insights into lobster colouration. His arrival now gives the research team a chance to examine the rarest colouration in the spectrum.
“Animals like Casper capture people’s attention because they are so rare and beautiful,” Frederich said. “But, for us, they also provide an amazing opportunity to ask fundamental biological questions.”
