A rare albino dolphin seen off Florida's east coast in December was one of only 15 spotted in the previous half century.

Danielle Carter of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) filmed the albino bottlenose dolphin on December 10. Carter said the video was filmed in Brevard County's Indian River Lagoon.

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Conservation officials posted the video on YouTube but didn't say exactly where the dolphin was spotted. They wanted to avoid possible harassment of rare marine mammal by the public.

"We thought it was worth sharing due to their rarity but we are not able to give out an exact place for the sake of the animal's safety. We did not ask for a certain place for this pretty cause," said Brandon Basino, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Investigation Institute.

The two-minute YouTube video shows the white dolphin appearing many times near a shoreline of mangroves. The dolphin is most visible toward the end of the video.

Some 20 species of dolphins, whales and porpoises are known to exhibit albinism. They're a lighter color because they lack melanin pigments in their skin.

They are usually referred to as "pink" dolphins mainly because of their coloration but are regarded as albino.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there have been 14 recorded sightings of albino bottlenose dolphins since 1962.

Tagsalbino bottlenose dolphin, albino dolphin, rare species, rare animal species, marine mammal, melanin pigments, albinism