NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI – A lobster’s extremely rare gold color saved it from the dinner plate in seafood-loving New England.
How unique is a gold lobster? About 1 in 30 million, according to Mark Hall, owner of the Biomes Marine Biology Center, in Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Earlier this week, the aquarium took in the crustacean after a local all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant called “out of the blue,” Hall said. A genetic mutation gives gold lobsters their color, the National Science Foundation says.
“The blue [lobster] is everybody’s favorite, but there’s something about the gold that really jumps out at you,” Hall said. “Most people assume it’s a different kind of lobster.”
The rare mutation for gold lobsters isn’t to be confused with orange lobsters, Hall wrote in a Facebook post. Their orange counterparts “are slightly more common, and a darker orange color.”
On May 27, the Nordic seafood restaurant in Charlestown donated the lobster. Within about an hour of the restaurant calling, bartender Joel Humphries delivered it to its new home, where it’s now in a tank, Hall said.
Humphries happens to be a former volunteer and employee at Biomes, an education facility and hands-on aquarium, which features marine animals from Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
The morning of May 29, about 50 fourth-grade students visited the aquarium. As Hall worked, he could hear the kids reacting to the marine life. They sounded impressed by the golden lobster, he recalled.
In its new tank, the lobster shuffled to and fro with hefty golden claws. It looked out with two piercing black eyes, videos showed.
Eduardo Cuevas of USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gold lobster saved from seafood restaurant in New England
