White-Eyed, Bright Orange Shark the Result of Extremely Rare Mutation

Sharks are a lot of things, but they usually aren’t orange. That’s probably what a group of fishers thought when they came across a cartilaginous fish resembling a giant Cheeto in 2024.

1. Meet the Most Colorful Shark You’ve Ever Seen
2. What Causes Albino-Xanthrochromism?

Meet the Most Colorful Shark You’ve Ever Seen

The oddly-colored shark was spotted during a fishing trip in 2024, Gizmodo reports. Initially thinking it was a giant goldfish, people on board the boat reeled in the 6-foot creature to snap pictures of it before letting it go. Researchers later determined that the fish wasn’t a goldfish; it was a nurse shark. The species is typically brown, but they’re also known to be shades of gray or yellow in some cases.  

The experts determined that the aquatic predator’s coloration was the result of an extremely rare condition called xanthism, characterized by oddly yellow skin that’s only been identified in a few animals. Additionally, the nurse shark had white eyes with no visible iris, indicating that it also had albinism. This combination (albino-xanthrochromism) makes the shark unique to science—it has only been seen once before in any marine species. The findings are laid out in the journal Marine Biodiversity.

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What Causes Albino-Xanthrochromism?

The cause of the shark’s genetic mutations is a mystery. Researchers say it’s possible that inbreeding or environmental stressors like higher ocean temperatures may be at play.

A shark’s typically muted coloring helps it blend in with the ocean, camouflaging it from both predators and prey. The nurse shark’s vivid shade, on the other hand, is hard to miss, and the researchers are surprised that it was able to survive to adulthood. Beyond making it a potential target, the shark’s albino-xanthrochromism doesn’t seem to have any ill effects. Marioxis Macias, the study’s lead author and an oceanographer at Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande in Brazil, told Gizmodo that the shark appeared to be healthy.