Unusual Shark Discovery in Costa Rica

Wildlife is fascinating, particularly in regions like Florida and the Caribbean.

During a fishing expedition off the coast of Costa Rica, two anglers were taken aback by a striking six-foot orange shark they caught.

In August 2024, Juan Pablo Solano and Garvin Watson were on a trip organized by Parismina Domus Day Tour Company. It was during this outing that they reeled in a nurse shark, which exhibited a vibrant “strong yellow-orange” coloration. The anglers promptly released the shark back into the water.

Photos shared on social media by Parismina Domus Dei highlighted this unusual orange shark, which stood out from the typical gray, brown, or olive tones usually seen in nurse sharks. Normally, these sharks are gray.

What made the shark even more intriguing was the discovery that it had “white eyes” instead of the usual black irises.

Researchers reviewed the photos and conferred with the anglers, classifying the shark as an adult nurse shark displaying a rare condition known as albino cantochromism.

This condition involves two types of unusual pigmentation: Xanthism and Albinism. Xanthism leads to “partial or primarily yellow pigmentation,” while Albinism manifests as a reduction in melanin and pigmentation in the skin and eyes. Such occurrences are quite rare among wild sharks.

According to researchers, this orange nurse shark marks “the first scientifically documented case of complete zantism in the species and the first record from the Caribbean.” They also concluded that this distinctive pigmentation did not adversely affect the shark’s survival.

Indeed, the variety of wildlife found in those waters is certainly remarkable.