SACO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- In their morning seafood shipment, Saco Hannaford employees saw something they thought was a bit out of the ordinary, a yellow-orange lobster.
The employees were spot on: a yellow-orange lobster is a one in 10 million occurrence, which is the same odds as becoming president. You're more likely to be struck by lightning than to catch one of the genetically unusual arthropods.
The Hannaford decided to offer it to University of New England's Marine Science Center, where it will join the blue lobster caught last year off Pine Point. Blue lobsters are much more common, occurring in about one in two million.
UNE explained the shell color in lobster is like human skin color and can vary greatly. A normal dark brown color is a product red, yellow and blue pigments that are bound together by protein. Orange lobsters occur when there is a lack of blue pigment.
Other rare lobsters include white, which is one in 100 million and calico, which is one in 30 million. Earlier this week, a one in 50 million two-toned lobster was discovered at Pine Point Fisherman's Co-Op tank.
The yellow-orange lobster will be housed in its own seawater tray at the Marine Science Center, where anyone will be able to view it.
