NEW ENGLAND'S THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND'S RARE ORANGE LOBSTER - IS OFFICIALLY A MOTHER. THE UNIQUELY COLORED CRUSTACEAN HAS GIVEN BIRTH TO MORE RARE ORANGE LOBSTERS THAT STUDENTS WILL NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY. CATEMCCUSKER BRINGS US A LOOK AT "PEACHES" AND HER BABY LOBSTERS. LAST YEAR - THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND WELCOMED "PEACHES" - THE ORANGE COLORED LOBSTER. 00;00;22;13 - 00;00;48;16 PROFESSOR ORANGE LOBSTERS ARE PRETTY RARE IN ITSELF. AND, SUPPOSEDLY THEY'RE ABOUT ONE INCH 30 MILLION OF FINDING AN ORANGE LOBSTER, BUT RARELY WE FIND ANY EGG BEARING FEMALES. NOW PEACHES - ALONG WITH NORMA - THE NORMAL COLORED LOBSTER - HAVE BOTH GIVEN BIRTH TO ABOUT 140 TINY BABY LOBSTERS. 00;05;08;24 - 00;05;22;29 RUBY "THIS IS SO EXCITING. I'M DISCOVERING NEW INFORMATION THAT NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER SEEN OR HEARD OF." THIS OFFSPRING ALLOWS FACULTY AND STUDENTS AT UNE TO STUDY THE GENETIC BASIS BEHIND THESE LOBSTERS AND THEIR RARE COLORATION. 00;01;09;17 - 00;01;36;22 SPEAKER 2 "WE HAVE THEM WHILE THEY DEVELOP FROM THOSE DIFFERENT LARVAL STAGE US. THEY START TINY AND THEN MOLT MULTIPLE TIMES INTO VARIOUS DIFFERENT SHAPES AND SIZES. THAT GIVES US SO MANY MORE OPTIONS TO STUDY WHAT MAKES THEM ORANGE AND WHY AND HOW THEY'RE DIFFERENT FROM THE REGULAR COLORED LOBSTER. AND THIS RESEARCH DOESN'T END WITH PEACHES AND HER ORANGE BABIES 00;02;34;04 - 00;02;57;04 PROFESSOR "NOW, BY SURPRISE, WE HAVE A SECOND, ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY WITH PINEAPPLE ALSO CARRYING EGGS, WHICH WILL HATCH NEXT JUNE. WITH NEW RARE OPPORTUNITIES THAT RESEARCHERS HOPE WIL
Orange lobster at Maine university has babies that match her rare color
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Updated: 4:48 PM CDT Aug 7, 2024
Peaches, the orange lobster donated to the University of New England last year, is officially a mother.Peaches and Norma, a normal-colored lobster, are mothers to two families of 140 tiny baby lobsters at UNE's Marine Science Center in Biddeford, Maine. So far, more than a dozen of Peaches' offspring match her rare orange color."Those orange lobsters are pretty rare in itself and, supposedly, (the odds are) about one in 30 million of finding an orange lobster," said Markus Frederich, a professor of marine sciences at the University of New England. "But rarely do we find any egg-bearing females." UNE students and faculty are now studying these lobsters in an effort to understand the genetic basis for their rare coloration."It's so exciting. Every day I come in here, and I'm, like, on the verge of tears," said Ruby Motulsky, a student who is doing summer research on the baby lobsters. "I'm discovering new information that no one else has ever seen or heard of."“Now we have them while they develop from those different larval stages. They start tiny and molt multiple times into various different shapes and sizes," Frederich said. "That gives us so many more options to study what makes them orange and why and how they're different from the regular-colored lobster."Frederich said another orange lobster being housed at UNE, named Pineapple, is currently bearing eggs that are expected to hatch next spring.
Peaches, the orange lobster donated to the University of New England last year, is officially a mother.
Peaches and Norma, a normal-colored lobster, are mothers to two families of 140 tiny baby lobsters at UNE's Marine Science Center in Biddeford, Maine. So far, more than a dozen of Peaches' offspring match her rare orange color.
"Those orange lobsters are pretty rare in itself and, supposedly, (the odds are) about one in 30 million of finding an orange lobster," said Markus Frederich, a professor of marine sciences at the University of New England. "But rarely do we find any egg-bearing females."
UNE students and faculty are now studying these lobsters in an effort to understand the genetic basis for their rare coloration.
"It's so exciting. Every day I come in here, and I'm, like, on the verge of tears," said Ruby Motulsky, a student who is doing summer research on the baby lobsters. "I'm discovering new information that no one else has ever seen or heard of."
Hearst Owned
A look at some of the rare orange lobster babies that were hatched at the University of New England’s Marine Science Center in Biddeford, Maine. The babies are the offspring of Peaches, an orange lobster that was donated to UNE in June 2023.
“Now we have them while they develop from those different larval stages. They start tiny and molt multiple times into various different shapes and sizes," Frederich said. "That gives us so many more options to study what makes them orange and why and how they're different from the regular-colored lobster."
Frederich said another orange lobster being housed at UNE, named Pineapple, is currently bearing eggs that are expected to hatch next spring.
