The lobster caught by Zhou weighs more than 1.5 kilogram. (Photo from web)
(ECNS) -- A fisherman from east China's Zhejiang Province caught a rare colorful lobster weighing more than 1.5 kilograms earlier this week.
Surnamed Zhou, the man said he snatched the lobster when fishing near Ningde City in neighboring Fujian Province.
The 1-meter-long lobster is largely green, with purple stripes and yellow dots on its back. Its legs are black and white and tail red.
Zhou said he had never seen such a lobster in his 40 years of fishing. Some of his friends and neighbors believe it belongs to a rare kind named Panulirus ornatus after comparing it with online images.
Judging from the pictures provided by Zhou, it is highly likely so, said the local fishery authority, adding that it has to see the real creature to determine its species.
Panulirus ornatus has the largest size among all lobsters. It likes to live in sandy mud near coral reefs deep under the sea. Japan, the Indian Ocean and south of the Pacific is their main habitats, while they seldom appear in Zhejiang-Fujian waters.
In 2010, though, another fisherman from Songmen Township in Zhejiang Province caught a similar lobster in East China Sea and sold it for 600,000 yuan ($88,000).
