Arnold Clawmer, an extremely rare split-colored lobster with half-red and half-mottled brown coloring, was discovered inside a Maine grocery store’s seafood tank and gifted a new home at the Shaw Institute Environmental Education Center on Christmas Eve. The odds of finding a split-colored lobster like Arnold are 1 in 50 million, making him a unique and remarkable sea creature. A shopper at the grocery store noticed Arnold and handed him off to researchers who brought him to the Shaw Institute after acclimating him to a touch tank at the Oceanarium in Bar Harbor.
Split lobsters, also known as chimeras, occur during the early stages of development when two fertilized eggs fuse together to form one lobster with a unique appearance like Arnold’s. The physical conditions inside the mother lobster need to be just right along with the genetics for such a rare split-colored lobster to develop. Arnold also has a distinctive trait of using his crusher claw on the left side to grab food, unlike most lobsters that use the right side for feeding. Lobsters are opportunistic carnivores, hunting for a variety of foods including clams, mussels, crabs, sea stars, and occasionally other lobsters.
In addition to Arnold, another rare lobster named Bowie was discovered in Maine in November 2023 by a lobsterman. Bowie, a dual-sex lobster with half-blue and half-red coloring, also had a 1 in 50 million occurrence like Arnold. Bowie’s unique condition, known as gynandromorphy, caused female and male tissues to form together. Bowie was initially housed at the Oceanarium in Bar Harbor where Arnold was temporarily located, but was eventually released back into the wild. The rare occurrences of split-colored and dual-sex lobsters highlight the incredible diversity and uniqueness of marine life in Maine.
The Shaw Institute Environmental Education Center where Arnold found his new home educates visitors about marine ecosystems and life through touch tanks where visitors can interact with non-dangerous marine creatures. Arnold’s arrival at the Shaw Institute allowed researchers and visitors to learn more about his unique coloring and behavior. The institute shared information about lobsters’ feeding habits, hunting for food like fish, clams, and other marine organisms. Lobsters are known for their opportunistic feeding behavior, hunting for prey and scavenging for food in their natural habitats.
The discovery of rare lobsters like Arnold and Bowie showcases the amazing diversity and beauty of marine life in Maine. These rare occurrences provide opportunities for researchers and visitors to learn more about the different genetic and environmental factors that can lead to unique traits in lobsters. Arnold’s unique coloring and feeding behavior, as well as Bowie’s dual-sex condition, offer valuable insights into the biology and behavior of lobsters in their natural habitats. These rare lobster discoveries serve as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts to protect and preserve marine life in Maine and around the world.
