Two Toned Lobster

An Extremely Rare Chequered Lobster has been plucked from the seabed in Yorkshire by stunned fisherman.

The crustacean - dubbed 'Harley Quin' for it's bizarre red and black chequered appearance - is being analysed by marine experts who claim it is a rarity of 50million-to-one.

The lobster was found about 10 miles from Bridlington, East Yorks, by a fishermen, who passed it onto the Scarborough Sea Life Centre in North Yorks.

Centre spokesman Todd German said: 'There have been unusual coloured lobsters found in the past but he is remarkable because he has two colours separated by a near perfect straight line along the back of his carapace.'

'Blue, red and yellow individuals have all been found, but this one is the strangest anyone has ever heard of with one side black and the other side dull red - and that's before you mention his claws.'

The crustacean has one red and one black claw, leading to the Harley Quin nickname, after mythical harlequin character who wore a half red, half black suit.

Mr German said: 'Half and half lobster means one side will be one colour and the other side will be another but in this case you have bits of both colours on each side.

'The normal odds are 50 million-to-one but I couldn't tell you what the odds would be of finding one like Harley Quin.

'When Harley Quin came to stay with us we contacted the National Lobster Hatchery in Cornwall and they said they had never seen one like ours.

Marine experts believe the lobster is about five or six years old.

Michaela Bowness, from the Scarborough Sea Life Centre, said Harley Quin could reach more than three times his current size and live for another sixty or seventy years now that he is safe from predators.

The crustacean is being kept in a display tank at the centre's Weird and Wonderful exhibition.