First Record Of Albinism In A Tropical Anguillid Eel Anguilla Bengalensis Bengalensis From Malaysia

Abstract

This study reports the first occurrence of partial albinism in a tropical anguillid eel Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis from Malaysia. This paper also describes the first record of albinism in the genus Anguilla. The occurrence of albinism in our specimen of Anguilla might have been caused by three factors: (1) contamination effects; (2) random genetic alterations; or (3) genetic alteration due to small population size. The present results suggest that the albinism in A. bengalensis bengalensis is probably caused by random genetic alteration. Partial albinism may not be a handicap in the life of the present specimen because the eel could still potentially grow to more than 1 m in total length, just like a normal adult eel.