A random TikTok video helped scientists discover a rare underground fish in India
A blurry TikTok clip of a fish coming out of a borewell led scientists straight to a brand new species living underground beneath the India-Nepal border. Meet Gangaichthys indonepalicus.
A random TikTok video sparked a scientific discovery of a novel species of fish in India. Researchers encountered the new genus and species, Gangaichthys indonepalicus, while investigating an underground eel living beneath the Indo-Gangetic Plain in Bihar, northern India. Named after the Ganga river and India-Nepal border, the subterranean eel is the first of its kind ever recorded in the Gangetic Basin.
The team, comprising researchers from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation, Shivaji University, Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, and the Zoological Survey of India, initially found a damaged specimen, but after further investigation, they obtained a holotype specimen that measured just four centimeters in length. The unique morphology of the fish, including its skin-covered eyes, transparent unpigmented body, and lack of ribs, confirmed its distinctiveness within the Chaudhuriidae family.
This discovery highlights the vast potential for new species still hidden beneath the Earth's surface.
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