White Red Snapper

Well… you don’t see that every day.

Angler Johnathon Morris caught this completely white red snapper while fishing off the coast of New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

Here’s what the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had to say about it on Instagram:

“Johnathon caught a red snapper that was completely white, and after viewing the photo our marine fisheries biologists confirmed it had a condition known as leucism. This is a condition in animals characterized by reduced pigmentation. Unlike albinism, it is caused by a reduction in all types of skin pigment, not just melanin. One key difference between albinism and leucism is in eye color. This fish had black eyes, whereas animals with albinism typically have red eyes due to the underlying blood vessels showing through. It’s a very rare catch, and we’d like to thank Nicole White for sharing this photo with us. She was on the boat that day and told us the snapper was vented and released after photos were taken.”

Wonder if Johnathon will have a replica mount made of his once-in-a-lifetime catch? The taxidermist certainly wouldn’t need to use much paint in the reproduction.

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