A farmer in India has discovered an incredibly rare yellow albino turtle, in a remarkable case that scientists believe is caused by a congenital disorder.

Basudev Mahapatra spotted the turtle, it is being reported, while he was working in his fields in the village of Sujanpur, which itself is located in Odisha's Balasore district.

Having made the discovery, Mahapatra handed the striking-looking turtle over to forest officials, who subsequently called in conservation experts to examine the creature.

It is believed that the turtle in question is albino, and that its incredibly rare appearance is caused by some kind of congenital disorder.

A video of the turtle was shared on Twitter, along with the caption, "A rare yellow turtle was spotted in India on July 19, 2020. The turtle was handed over to forest officials. Wildlife experts say it is possibly an albino mutation of a common turtle".

Executive director at the Association for Biodiversity Conservation, Siddhartha Pati, said it was the first time he had ever seen a turtle of this kind.

"It is a congenital disorder and it is characterized by complete or partial absence of tyrosine pigment." He said. "Also, sometimes a mutation takes place in the gene sequence or there is a deficiency of tyrosine."

"We find turtles and crabs regularly and we rescue them and release them into the water. But this is the first time in Odisha and second time in India that an albino turtle has been found," Pati said, per CNN.

After experts had studied the turtle, it was released back into the wild.

Back in 2016, a rare green albino turtle was spotted on a beach in Australia, newly hatched. Volunteers from Coolum and North Shore Coast Care dubbed the tiny creature Little Alby, CNN reports.

A farmer in India has discovered an incredibly rare yellow albino turtle, in a remarkable case that scientists believe is caused by a congenital disorder.

Basudev Mahapatra spotted the turtle, it is being reported, while he was working in his fields in the village of Sujanpur, which itself is located in Odisha's Balasore district.

Having made the discovery, Mahapatra handed the striking-looking turtle over to forest officials, who subsequently called in conservation experts to examine the creature.

It is believed that the turtle in question is albino, and that its incredibly rare appearance is caused by some kind of congenital disorder.

A video of the turtle was shared on Twitter, along with the caption, "A rare yellow turtle was spotted in India on July 19, 2020. The turtle was handed over to forest officials. Wildlife experts say it is possibly an albino mutation of a common turtle".

Executive director at the Association for Biodiversity Conservation, Siddhartha Pati, said it was the first time he had ever seen a turtle of this kind.

"It is a congenital disorder and it is characterized by complete or partial absence of tyrosine pigment." He said. "Also, sometimes a mutation takes place in the gene sequence or there is a deficiency of tyrosine."

"We find turtles and crabs regularly and we rescue them and release them into the water. But this is the first time in Odisha and second time in India that an albino turtle has been found," Pati said, per CNN.

After experts had studied the turtle, it was released back into the wild.

Back in 2016, a rare green albino turtle was spotted on a beach in Australia, newly hatched. Volunteers from Coolum and North Shore Coast Care dubbed the tiny creature Little Alby, CNN reports.