Ultra-rare orange lobster found

An ultra-rare orange lobster that surprised workers at a Massachusetts store is getting a second chance at life at a New England Aquarium.

The orange lobster was discovered by workers at the Roche Bros. supermarket in Westboro among a shipment of the crustaceans from Nova Scotia.

The University of Maine’s Lobster Institute said orange lobsters are extremely rare, with a likelihood of about 1 in 30 million.

The store decided the lobster, which is believed to be about seven to nine years old, was too unique to sell and donated the animal to the New England Aquarium.

The aquarium said the lobster will be quarantined for a month before going on display at the aquarium or a facility in Japan.

Australian lizard uses electric blue tongue to ward off predators

When most of us stick our tongue out, it’s to taunt or tease — or we’re at the doctor’s office. When the bluetongue skink sticks out its tongue, it’s trying to scare away would-be predators and avoid being eaten.

A new investigation of the lizard’s unique defensive technique showed the back of the species’ tongue is more reflective of ultraviolet light, making it more luminous than the front. By reflecting ultraviolet blue light, the back of the tongue — which only appears when a direct attack is imminent — can startle or disorient the lizard’s enemies.

The medium-large lizard species belongs to the genus Tiliqua. They are native to Australia, eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Using a portable spectrophotometer to analyse the tongues of 13 specimens, scientists were able to confirm the species’ tongue reflects UV-blue light. They also determined the back of the lizard’s tongue is nearly twice as bright as the front.

Researchers also simulated attacks on lizard specimens to observe the defensive deployment of the tongue.

The research team found the more intense the attack, the more likely a lizard was to stick out their tongue and stick out more of it.

Pizza wedding bouquets and boutonnieres

A New Jersey-based pizza chain is offering affianced couples the chance to be the first to sport some unusual new accessories — a pizza bouquet and boutonniere.

Villa Italian Kitchen announced that it is holding a contest for engaged couples to receive the pizzeria’s bouquets and boutonnieres for use in their weddings.

The floral-esque arrangements are made from pizza dough, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and pepperoni. The restaurant said it enlisted the help of New York food stylist Jessie Bearden to hand-craft each piece.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 14th, 2018