Logan Airport, with its proximity to the lobster-rich waters of New England, is no stranger to crustaceans. In fact, the T.S.A. has a web page that explains just how to transport lobsters — in a clear, plastic, spill-proof container — and advises that an agent will need to inspect it.

On Sunday, a security agent not only inspected it, he also took a photo with the monster lobster, which was shared on the T.S.A.’s Twitter page. For its brief fame, much remains a mystery. It appeared to be male, but did it have a name? Where was it found, and where was it going? Was it destined for a clam bake, for a taxidermist or to be kept as a pet?

“Anecdotally, I have no indication of any other lobster of this size,” Mr. McCarthy said.

But 33 years ago, there was a lobster named Big Jake. Caught off Long Island, Big Jake weighed 25 pounds and was shipped to Anchorage, where he toiled with his tiny brethren in a tank and carried a steep price at a seafood store: $212.

In a world where restaurants call three-pound lobsters “jumbo,” Big Jake became an overnight celebrity and the subject of multiple stories by The Associated Press in January 1984. Customers crowded the Anchorage store to see him and fought over who would buy him. Some said they wanted to mount him in their homes.