A Bright Orange Shark Has Been Spotted in the Waters of Costa Rica

An amazing discovery was made off the cost of Costa Rica, when a couple of anglers spotted and caught an orange nurse shark. Details of the shark were published in a marine journal, highlighting how rare of a find it truly was.

The news of the discovery, which actually happened almost a year prior to the journal's publication, quickly went viral as people marveled over the wonders of the ocean, and all of the things that mankind has yet to uncover about the vast body of water.

Are you intrigued about the orange shark found in Costa Rica? Then keep reading as we share all of the other pertinent details about the find, including what experts say causes the rare pigmentation, and where similar colored sharks have been found in the past.

Spoiler alert: While orange sharks aren't exactly a thing in Costa Rica, they aren't completely unheard of, as they have been seen in waters in other parts of the world.

According to the journal Marine Biodiversity, a 2024 discovery of an orange nurse shark was the first documented time one was spotted in the water of Costa Rica. Previous orange sharks had been found in the Caribbean, making this an unusual sight.

The shark was found by anglers on a fishing trip in the area near Tortuguero National Park. The orange beauty was an adult male, and it measured about 6.5 feet in length.

"The vastness of the ocean surprises us every day," the company running the fishing expedition posted on Facebook at the time. "We had the opportunity to catch this nurse shark of this peculiar orange color. It’s the first time we’ve seen one of this color."

After snapping the photos, it sounds like the shark was released back into the wild where it was originally found, and it swam away without further incident.

Of course, the most natural question is, why was the shark orange in the first place? According to the Shark Research Institute, nurse sharks are typically much more subdued in color, and their shades can range from gray to brown. Sometimes you can spot a yellow-brown colored shark as well, but that color isn't anywhere near as vibrant as the one that was found in 2024.

So, what's behind the bright color? Something known as xanthism.

The condition is known as albino-xanthochromism, and it alters the pigment of the shark, according to the Marine Biodiversity journal.

As for what causes this to happen, it sounds like it's a mix of environmental factors and genetic mutations. However, the condition doesn't appear to be fatal given the fact that this shark was an adult, which is good news for the Costa Rica nurse shark and the ones that have been discovered in the Caribbean.

Both researchers and the anglers who first found this shark are excited to see what comes from the discovery.