‘Enigmatic’ catfish species that dwells in complete darkness found in India
1 year, 10 months ago

‘Enigmatic’ catfish species that dwells in complete darkness found in India

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy An “enigmatic” new catfish species that dwells deep underground in a completely dark environment has been found in India. “There are very few documented occurrences of these species – as a rule, these elusive little fish only come to the surface when a domestic well is being dug or cleaned,” said Ralf Britz, a study co-author from the Senckenberg Natural History Collections in Germany. “We informed local villagers about the importance of subterranean fish species and their conservation needs and asked them to share information, photos, or videos with us when they encountered and/or collected these species,” he added. “Currently, 289 fish species are known from subterranean aquatic habitats worldwide – less than 10 per cent of them live in aquifers,” Dr Britz explained.

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