In his four decades as a lobster fisherman, Robert Wagner encountered a unique sight: a lobster split in half with one side blue and the other orange from head to tail. Wagner, amazed by the unusual creature, named it Oscar and decided to share its discovery with others.
After catching Oscar in a trap near Blue Rocks in Nova Scotia, Wagner’s daughter suggested reaching out to Dalhousie University to offer the lobster a potentially life-saving opportunity. Nadia Stewart from Dalhousie’s Beaty Centre for Marine Biodiversity expressed gratitude for the lobster donation, highlighting the rarity of Oscar’s split coloration, occurring in only one out of 50 million lobsters.
Oscar, with two distinct sets of genetic information, was cared for by Wagner and his family for a month before being transported to Halifax. Upon acclimating to his new environment, Oscar surprised staff by shedding his shell, prompting the display of his old blue-orange shell while he awaits the hardening of a new one.
Stewart mentioned that Oscar’s genetic coloration will persist in his new shell, which will take approximately 14 to 30 days to fully develop. Wagner expressed satisfaction with the decision to donate Oscar, hoping for the lobster to have a good life in his new home.
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