A sports fisherman in Costa Rica was surprised by his life by capturing something that seemed taken from a fantasy film: a two -meter shark of an intense orange yellow color and with completely white eyes. Something that I had never seen in his life, but that was not a new species, but a specimen of nodriza shark with such a rare genetic condition that has left fascinated scientists.
A shark so special that it has deserved to be investigated. The finding, which took place near the Tortuguero National Park, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, has been documented in a scientific article published in the magazine Marine Biodiversity. And this shark was not any: it is the first case of total scientifically documented xantism in a nodriza shark (ginglymostomacirratum) worldwide. And the first registered in the Caribbean Sea.
A unique shark in its kind. On August 10, 2024, while fishing at a depth of 37 meters, a fisherman captured, photographed and released this incredible exemplary. The images revealed an adult shark of approximately 200 cm in length, whose skin, normally of a grayish brown color, was of a vibrant yellow-orange tone.
What is Xantism. It is a genetic condition that causes predominantly yellow pigmentation in the skin of an animal. Although it has been observed in various species, from reef fish to reptiles, it is a phenomenon considered ‘rare’, especially in the marine environment. The reason for its rarity could be in the natural selection itself: such a striking color could make the animal an easy target for predators.
Why this shark is special. But what caught the attention of the researchers, led by Marioxis Macías-Cuyare, were his eyes. The animal had white eyes, without visible iris, which suggests an even more complex condition than simple xantism. Scientists have called it ‘albino-xantochromism’, a combination of xantism (excess yellow pigment) and albinism (absence of other pigments such as melanin in the eyes).
The unknown is in its survival. One of the great questions posed by this discovery is how such striking animal has been able to survive. As a general rule, animals with such striking colorations are easy prey, since their inability to hide makes them a perfect target for predators.
However, this Nodriza shark was a two -meter adult. This shows that, despite its spectacular color, it has been able to survive for years, hunt successfully and no one has been able to hunt. The fact that it will reach maturity, suggests, according to the authors of the study, that “Xantism does not hinder the survival of this species.”
The most plausible theory is that this type of sharks live in night environments, which could have helped him go unnoticed.
The new questions that opens this golden shark. This sighting is not just a curious anecdote, but it opens a new field of research. This Nodriza shark is now classified as ‘vulnerable’ species in the IUCN red list, so understanding its genetics and adaptation capacity is crucial for its conservation.
In this way, science now wonders if this can be an isolated case or if it can represent an emerging genetic tendency in the region. In addition, environmental factors are also on the table, since it points to the high temperatures of the Caribbean could influence the expression of different genes through epigenetics.
In WorldOfSoftware | The white shark is an exceptional swimmer. His secret is in his “denticles”
