Featured Image Credit:Nate Madden/Youtube
Earlier this week off the coast of Turks and Caicos, a diver named Nate Madden spotted a really rare nurse shark! Now, nurse sharks themselves are a pretty common species, but this one in particular had some very peculiar patches…
The shark was pigmented with black and white splotchy markings due to a genetic mutation called leucism, which is a condition where animals display a loss of pigmentation.
According to the team’s research, there has been only one other reported case of leucism in nurse sharks, “so this is a very exciting and rare find!”
Madden managed to capture a video of the calico colored fish and posted it on YouTube. YAS!
Does this genetic mutation mesmerize you?? Check out these other leucistic animals.