Not a myth, but a marvel of nature.
Off the coast of Costa Rica, the deep blue yielded a creature of pure gold. Angler Garvin Watson, casting his line near Tortuguero National Park, felt the tug of the extraordinary.
What surfaced was a vision: a 6.5-foot nurse shark, its entire body a stunning, vibrant orange. A first-ever documented sighting.
Researchers swiftly identified the cause as xanthism, a rare genetic condition that washes an animal in yellow, orange, or gold pigmentation.
The shark’s ghostly white eyes suggest a simultaneous form of albinism, compounding its rarity.
This magnificent anomaly, resembling a “sun-kissed alien” from the abyss, challenges understanding of the ocean’s hidden diversity.
It’s a powerful reminder that the sea, even in an age of discovery, still holds breathtaking secrets, revealing its wonders one cast at a time.
