A Florida man with a love for sharks recently reeled in a magnificent catch with a rare genetic condition and captured it all on video.
Instagram user @huntingforjaws posted video of his encounter with the rare shark on May 31. The lemon shark likely has piebaldism, which gives it a splotchy black-and-white appearance.
“Incredibly rare lemon shark with a genetic condition known as piebaldism, accidentally came across this beauty while fishing for some bulls,” the social media user wrote. “She had been tagged recently, so I took down her tag number and recorded measurements to send into [the] NOAA.”
The lemon shark was caught off Captiva Island, which is located around 30 miles west of Cape Coral, Florida. Video shows the man lifting the creature out of the water and inspecting it.
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The female lemon shark thrashed around while the fisherman measured her. The shark appeared to take a swipe at the angler’s leg before he put her back in the water.
Piebaldism in humans occurs when a human lacks melanocytes, or melanin-forming cells, in certain areas of their skin and/or hair. Piebaldism in sharks is nearly unheard of, and some believe that this shark has been spotted before.
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Fishing expert Rob Chapman, who posts under the handle @robchapmanfishing, said the chances of spotting a piebald shark are astronomically low.
“This (piebald or leucistic) shark is officially [one] in 100 million,” Chapman wrote.
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The comments section of the original video of the shark was filled with users remarking how beautiful and unusual the shark appeared.
“INSANELY cool. Wow,” one person wrote.
“Omg. This is a true beauty,” another said.
“She’s freaking gorgeous!!! I want a tattoo of her now!” a third admirer said.
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