Overview

• Gloucester lobsterman Mike Tufts caught the orange-and-black female off the Massachusetts coast and donated her to Northeastern's Marine Science Center.
• Reports differ on how uncommon calicos are, with estimates ranging from roughly one in 20 million to one in 30 million.
• Staff attribute the mottled shell to interactions among pigments such as astaxanthin and the protein crustacyanin, which also produces blue at her joints.
• Jackie will appear in classroom and public programs alongside the center’s blue lobster, Neptune, though they are housed in separate tanks with other local species.
• The center says rare specimens help engage thousands of learners each year and support genetics research addressing threats like climate change and overfishing.