Overview

• The adult nurse shark was accidentally caught in 2024 during a sport-fishing trip near Tortuguero at 37 meters depth, photographed, and released in good condition.
• A team led by the Federal University of Rio Grande analyzed the images and published the case in Marine Biodiversity as xantism combined with albinism.
• The specimen measured about two meters and displayed bright orange skin with uniformly white eyes, consistent with albino‑xanthochromism.
• The study reports the first documented xanthic nurse shark in Costa Rican waters and the first such record for cartilaginous fishes in the Caribbean.
• Authors call for surveys and genetic and environmental research, including tests of potential temperature effects, and note no additional cases have been documented.