A nurse shark with a yellow-orange body and white eyes became an unusual scientific record after an encounter off Costa Rica. The animal was found near Tortuguero National Park during a sport-fishing trip in 2024.
A study published in Marine Biodiversity on August 1, 2025 describes the adult shark as approximately two meters long. Researchers identified its unusual coloration as albino-xanthochromism, combining yellow pigmentation with signs of albinism.
The authors describe it as the first scientifically documented case of total xanthism in this nurse-shark species, and the first such record from the Caribbean Sea. That is a specific research finding; it does not mean this was the first orange shark ever seen.
The shark had reached adulthood despite its conspicuous appearance. The researchers say further work is needed to understand the genetic or environmental factors behind the pigmentation.
The color is striking. The useful part of the story is the documentation: one unusual animal gave researchers a record they could describe and compare with other cases.
