While scientists have identified roughly 260 species of marine lobsters, there’s plenty of ocean left to discover, and one of those discoveries is the pink Thymops also known as the bubble gum or Barbie lobster. Barbie lobsters were discovered by the Schmidt Ocean Institute using an underwater robot called the ROV SuBastian to explore the continental shelf in the Argentine Sea.
While there are multiple types of lobsters from the bluish-black European lobster to the cotton candy lobster whose color comes from a rare genetic mutation or a lack of pigment heavy foods, Barbie lobsters could be an evolutionary trait that helps them in their deep sea habitation. This is because the Barbie lobsters were discovered in groups while cotton candy, calico, and other genetically mutated lobsters could be one only per catch.
By evolving into a pink or red color the red light wavelengths cannot penetrate the ocean water making it nearly impossible for predators to see them as the red hue coloring works like camouflage.
And pink bubble gum lobsters are not alone in this specific region. There’s the popular Argentine red shrimp which is a popular food rich in lipophilic compounds, the stunning sea basket that can come in a pinkish hue, and even the pink flamingo that gets its colors from eating the brine shrimp that eat algae with carotenoids leading to the pink coloring.
The Barbie lobster more closely resembles a small lobsterette reaching sizes between 3 – 10 inches compared to the large Maine lobsters that can reach up to 4ft long. And both are part of the Nephropidae family.
Much like the Maine lobster, bubble gum lobsters have two claws on the front and a tail used to escape predators. While Maine lobsters live at depths roughly 130 feet deep, bubble gum lobsters live roughly 390 to 2,950 feet below sea level, with a potential depth of up to 5,000 feet. The other major difference between the Maine lobsters we know and love and the Barbie lobster is that the average life of some Thymops may range from 5 to 10 years, and 15 at a maximum while Maine Lobsters can live to 100+ years.
The discovery of the Barbie lobster along with 40+ other new ocean species is exciting because we not only have a new species, but it opens the door to how many more may still be left to find.