With more than 80% of marine life unexplored, one can expect a pleasant surprise every time a new species of marine creature is unexpectedly sighted. Recently, an Arkansas man, who was busy enjoying fishing by the Beaver Lake in the Ozark Highlands, was taken by an adventitious surprise when he caught the rarest of rare fish. Josh Roger was left amazed after he landed a golden largemouth bass last week. Usually, the largemouth bass is in the shades of brown and green. As per Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s website, Roger was pretty sure that it was bass when he first encountered it but was not convinced of its golden colour.
He first thought the catch appeared light in colour due to the mud around. But when he looked closely at its mouth and gills, he wondered if it was sick. Next, he assured that it was not eating anything that would have turned it yellow. After examining from all the angles, Roger then confirmed that bass naturally had a golden tint.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission also posted photos of the fish on its social media handle.
He took out its photos and published them online before sending the rare fish back into the waters.
Talking about Roger’s catch, Jon Stein, a biologist in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission remarked, “Josh needs to buy a lottery ticket because he caught one fish in a million.”
Stein further clarified that the gold colour of the bass was due to a genetic anomaly, Xanthochromism, which leads to the loss of darker pigment in the organism and then replaces it with yellow pigment in the body. He further apprised that this genetic disorder is very rare and occurs naturally.
While Roger said that he had never heard of such fish before seeing it and stated that he wished he had never thrown it back in the lake after seeing the reactions from people online. He even wished to make the replica of the catch through the photographs.
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