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Old 03-04-2017, 03:26 PM   #1
Atmosphere
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Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

With a belly full of Pismo Manhattan clam chowder I went out lobster diving in the La Jolla area last night 10:30 to 12:30. Conditions were decent with the surge being manageable however I only came out with one large one.

The surprise of the night was seeing a pale blue/purple lobster. The normal tan/brown coloration was on the carapace but the rest of him was pale blue and the legs being purple. Think normal lobster colorations but with a blue/purple gradient. Orange->Pale Blue, Brick Red ->Purple

A DFG agent checked my catch at my car and I asked him about it but he said he's never heard of anything like that before. Anyone else here ever observe the color variation I am describing?
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Old 03-04-2017, 04:14 PM   #2
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Sounds awesome, too bad no pic.

How was the vis? Thinking about going tonight.
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Old 03-05-2017, 01:29 AM   #3
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Atmosphere View Post
With a belly full of Pismo Manhattan clam chowder I went out lobster diving in the La Jolla area last night 10:30 to 12:30. Conditions were decent with the surge being manageable however I only came out with one large one.

The surprise of the night was seeing a pale blue/purple lobster. The normal tan/brown coloration was on the carapace but the rest of him was pale blue and the legs being purple. Think normal lobster colorations but with a blue/purple gradient. Orange->Pale Blue, Brick Red ->Purple

A DFG agent checked my catch at my car and I asked him about it but he said he's never heard of anything like that before. Anyone else here ever observe the color variation I am describing?
Any spots on it? The Baja spiny lobster are black, with yellow, crème, and spots. It was quite possibly a hybrid of this, and a California spiny. There are some mixed bugs which show up, the overlap area for these 2 slightly different bugs is from Abreojos to Mag bay.

There are some mixed bugs down there, but we are not allowed to dive Abreojos, so we see very few of the mixed bugs.
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Old 03-05-2017, 04:17 PM   #4
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Lots of purple bugs down in baja. Specifically the Abreojos to Mag Bay zone that Rojodiablo mentioned. Saw some just last Thanksgiving.
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Old 03-05-2017, 05:34 PM   #5
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

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Originally Posted by rojodiablo View Post
Any spots on it? The Baja spiny lobster are black, with yellow, crème, and spots. It was quite possibly a hybrid of this, and a California spiny. There are some mixed bugs which show up, the overlap area for these 2 slightly different bugs is from Abreojos to Mag bay.

There are some mixed bugs down there, but we are not allowed to dive Abreojos, so we see very few of the mixed bugs.
I didn't see spots like on other spiney lobster species just the pale blue and purple. I've seen east coast lobster in all blue before so maybe its a rare genetic variation?

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Sounds awesome, too bad no pic.

How was the vis? Thinking about going tonight.
Vis was a hazy 10-12ft. I've been meaning to pick up a gopro.
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Old 03-05-2017, 06:02 PM   #6
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Atmosphere View Post
With a belly full of Pismo Manhattan clam chowder I went out lobster diving in the La Jolla area last night 10:30 to 12:30. Conditions were decent with the surge being manageable however I only came out with one large one.

The surprise of the night was seeing a pale blue/purple lobster. The normal tan/brown coloration was on the carapace but the rest of him was pale blue and the legs being purple. Think normal lobster colorations but with a blue/purple gradient. Orange->Pale Blue, Brick Red ->Purple

A DFG agent checked my catch at my car and I asked him about it but he said he's never heard of anything like that before. Anyone else here ever observe the color variation I am describing?
Where in La Jolla?

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Old 03-05-2017, 06:30 PM   #7
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Here's a photo of a nice molt from that section of Baja.
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Old 03-05-2017, 07:56 PM   #8
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

That is pretty crazy. The purple and blue coloring on that molt reminds me of Hawaiian spinys. Here is an internet picture of one. I saw a similar one last month in about 15 feet of water in Maui.
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Old 03-06-2017, 04:05 PM   #9
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Lobster color is a combination of many pigments. To try and track migration they used to breed them down to a specific color, like blue, and released them on the west coast. We were supposed to report them when found but very few were ever reported. Natural colors do show up like u saw. Thats just what I have read and heard.
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Old 03-06-2017, 05:18 PM   #10
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

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Originally Posted by CIharbor View Post
That is pretty crazy. The purple and blue coloring on that molt reminds me of Hawaiian spinys. Here is an internet picture of one. I saw a similar one last month in about 15 feet of water in Maui.
That's a beautiful bug. Should taste like candy!
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Old 03-06-2017, 07:14 PM   #11
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...-a7185251.html

Could be something like this too, one in 2 million lobsters get a pigment mutation similar to being albino. Something similar happens to rock crab in Alaska. Why not California Spiny Lobster too?
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Old 03-07-2017, 12:50 AM   #12
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

I found a ledge full of short lobsters at San Clemente Island last season that all had an iridescent blue/purple tint on their heads. I couldn't see the rest of their bodies, but their heads were distinctly blue. I asked some of the guys on the boat about it and they warned me that they could have been mantis shrimp? I wasn't convinced...
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Old 03-13-2017, 11:35 PM   #13
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

Test
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Old 03-13-2017, 11:36 PM   #14
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

test 123
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Old 03-14-2017, 10:41 AM   #15
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Re: Blue/Purple Spiney lobster?

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test 123
You still haven't created a purple lobster.
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