Head of Leucistic Pacific Sailfish caught by Captain Wicho Ramirez

Last year a group of anglers caught a leucistic Pacific sailfish in Guatemala in the boat of Captain Luis “Wicho” Ramirez. At first I thought that Leucistic was just another word for albino, but it turns out they’re not quite the same – as described by the National Park Service, “albinism affects all melanin production in an animal’s cells, this means that partial albinism cannot exist. This phenomenon is known as leucism, the partial loss of all types of pigmentation, including carotenoids. Leucism causes white coloration, white patches, spots, or splotches on the skin or fur. Leucism is also discernible from albinism because leucism does not affect the pigment cells in the eyes.”

I’ve never seen an albino or leucistic fish, mammal, bird or reptile in the wild. They’re not common, and for obvious reasons they make an easy target for predator species. Nevertheless, after a bit of exploring, it turns out there have been a number of leucistic and albino fish caught around the globe in recent years. Here are a few examples.