The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster caught in Canada has been displayed at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang, the capital of Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam.

Some visitors to the institute had a chance to see the old shell on Wednesday, one day after the rare lobster had shed the exoskeleton.

The institute received the lobster for research and exhibition purposes from Ho Chi Minh City-based Royal Seafood International Trading Company Limited, which imported the rare crustacean from Canada in July 2022.

A rare yellowish orange lobster is seen after shedding shell at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre

The lobster, which weighs about two kilograms and measures 55 centimeters long, has been supplemented with nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium because it consumed a lot of energy during the molting process, which happens once a year, and became vulnerable.

Yellowish orange lobsters are extremely rare, with a probability of one in 30 million, because their bright shells make them easy targets for predators.

They are the results of genetic abnormalities.

The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre

Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish green or greenish brown, and are primarily found along the Atlantic coast and in North America.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a lobster with a yellowish orange color like a cooked one,” said Le Ho Thien Nga, a tourist from southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province.

The Institute of Oceanography said the lobster shell will undergo a processing stage before its official display in the future.

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