Why did lobsters evolve bright colors if they are neither poisonous nor venomous?

By the way, other animals have astaxanthin. It’s a carotenoid and helps give salmon meat it’s red color.

I could add stories about watching lobster fishermen when I was an adult living in Maine but must restrain myself; too many words spoil writing. In my old age, I have decided it’s time to learn how to write movingly, a skill I haven’t yet mastered.

Thinking about live lobsters makes me remember my New York City childhood long ago. My mother occasionally took my sister and me to the fish market on 106th and Amsterdam Ave. The store was run by Americans who spoke only English which made it seem intimidating. There, we gazed at the many fish and crustaceans on ice, wondering which delicacy my mother would purchase. She was an observant Catholic, so we had a fish-based meal every Friday. My passion for eating seafood remains to this day.

Why is the government destroying the homeless instead of helping them?

Everyone knows that Maine lobsters are bright red. That naturally leads to questions about the adaptive value of that color.

On account of that experience, I know that live lobsters aren’t brightly colored. Instead, they have dull colors that help them hide in the bottom of the ocean.

Lobsters and crabs have a pigment called astaxanthin in their shells, which has the ability to absorb blue light, making the shell appear red under certain conditions. When the lobster is alive, the pigment is safely stored inside a membrane hidden in the shell called the crustacyanin. It’s packed so tightly inside the lobster shell that the pigment is trapped inside the membrane, unable to flow freely. That means that crustacean usually appears in those muted dark blue or green tones.

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

Occasionally, my mother would buy lobsters, take them home, and put them into a big pot of boiling water. The child I was back then, was fascinated by the lobsters trying to crawl out. But as an old man, I am appalled by the suffering those tasty animals must have endured.

Comment

That fish market was a place of wonderment for me. Of course, when one is a child, even the most ordinary places seem that way. This modern photo gives a tiny sense of what that was like.

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As an old man, I am interested in the science behind this.