Fishers caught a bright orange shark off Costa Rica that had albinism, alongside the species' first scientifically documented case of an extremely rare condition called xanthism. Sand tiger sharks are also known as sand tigers and gray nurse sharks. Like all sharks, they breathe underwater, through their gills.
But sand tigers have one unique habit. They are the only sharks that come to the surface to gulp air, but not to breathe. The air ends up in its stomach.
The air makes the shark more buoyant, so it can float motionless in the water as it watches for prey. Sand. A 2024 discovery is shocking ocean lovers after it was announced that an orange nurse shark was found swimming in the waters of Costa Rica.
In summer 2024, a unique nurse shark was discovered during a sport fishing trip in Costa Rica. Its orange. Scientists came across a bright orange shark whose skin was pigmented by a genetic condition that is exceedingly rare among the predators of the deep.
The depths of the Caribbean host a spectacular array of marine life-including this nurse shark featuring vivid orange scales and cloudy white eyes. Last year, anglers on a fishing trip near. The nurse shark's vivid shade, on the other hand, is hard to miss, and the researchers are surprised that it was able to survive to adulthood.
The species has fang-like teeth which are visible when the shark's mouth is closed. Greynurse Sharks are not however the 'maneaters' that some people have considered them to be. The teeth of the Greynurse Shark are constantly being replaced.
Older, damaged or blunt teeth on the exterior surfaces of the jaws are replaced by new teeth. A remarkable discovery has emerged from the Caribbean as a brightly colored nurse shark with striking orange skin and white eyes was caught and subsequently released. This unique phenomenon, identified as xanthism-or xanthochroism-results in increased yellow pigmentation, making this instance particularly extraordinary as it marks the first scientifically documented case of a nurse shark.
What shark looks like a nurse shark? THE WHALE SHARK IS A RELATIVE. Like the nurse shark, this species eats via suction, and that's not where the resemblance stops. Whale and nurse sharks are both members of the order Orectolobiformes, a group of 39 shark species largely in temperate and tropical oceans.