What lies beneath Iraq’s desert? A river filled with rare blind fish
Iraq: Iraqi environmental police have documented an underground river inhabited by rare blind fish deep beneath the desert of Anbar province, in an unusual environmental and geological discovery. The site lies at Al Khasfa, a deep geological depression and cave formation near Haditha in western Iraq. Footage released by Iraq’s Ministry of Interior showed members of the environmental police…
Iraq's environmental police have discovered an underground river teeming with blind fish in the Anbar province, a surprising geological and ecological find. The site, located near Haditha, is an expansive cave system beneath the desert, linked to the Euphrates river system. The team descended over 500 meters into the depths, enduring low oxygen levels, to reach the underground passage.
Dr. Omar Al Sheikhly, an environmental scientist, explained that Al Khasfa forms part of a vast cave network beneath the desert, with the water system extending over 130 kilometers eastwards from the Euphrates. The unique feature of this discovery is the presence of blind fish, locally known as the Haditha blind fish, thriving in a permanently dark, oxygen-rich environment.
These fish, devoid of eyes, survive on bacteria and dissolved organic material, relying on their sense of touch and lateral-line system for navigation. The fish exhibit distinctive characteristics, such as translucent or pale pink bodies, due to the lack of sunlight. Researchers consider the fish a threatened species, listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
The discovery marks the first documented instance of such a phenomenon in Iraq and the Middle East, drawing significant interest on Iraqi social media.
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