A new eyeless, scaleless species of fish has been discovered in Vietnam.
The fish, a type of loach, was found in a cave on a small island in Ha
Long bay and has been named Draconectes narinosus (a combination of
Greek and Latin, meaning "Dragon swimmer who has large nostrils"). The
Dragon part refers to Ha long itself, which means "Descending dragon"
and was believed to have been created by one.
It
is the first Draconectes species to be found and it's currently unknown
whether there are any other surviving species in this newly-formed
genus.
D. narinosus has a very small habitat to live in. Like
other cave fish, it only lives in freshwater and so is unable to expand
into the sea. It's estimated to spend its entire life in the
subterranean caves of Van Gio Island (where it was found). The
researchers from Fauna & Flora International who described it have
expressed amazement at its survival in such a small habitat - Van Gio
Island's narrow arms have a maximum width of only 400m (1,300 feet). In
addition to this small habitat, the cave D. narinosus was found in is
only 200m (650 feet) from the sea.
Though it's unknown whether
there are any other species in this genus, several other loaches have
been discovered in nearby caves and await description. D. narinosus'
adaptations, specifically the lack of eyes, pigment and scales, are all
frequently seen in cave-dwelling species. The similarities between D.
narinosus and loaches known from caves in Guangxi (China) in the
Oreonectes genus may hint at shared evolutionary history.
Photo credit: M Kottelat/Revue suisse de Zoologie.
http://www.livescience.com/
http://www.fauna-flora.org/
http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/
A new eyeless, scaleless species of fish has been discovered in Vietnam.
The fish, a type of loach, was found in a cave on a small island in Ha Long bay and has been named Draconectes narinosus (a combination of Greek and Latin, meaning "Dragon swimmer who has large nostrils"). The Dragon part refers to Ha long itself, which means "Descending dragon" and was believed to have been created by one.
The fish, a type of loach, was found in a cave on a small island in Ha Long bay and has been named Draconectes narinosus (a combination of Greek and Latin, meaning "Dragon swimmer who has large nostrils"). The Dragon part refers to Ha long itself, which means "Descending dragon" and was believed to have been created by one.
It
is the first Draconectes species to be found and it's currently unknown
whether there are any other surviving species in this newly-formed
genus.
D. narinosus has a very small habitat to live in. Like other cave fish, it only lives in freshwater and so is unable to expand into the sea. It's estimated to spend its entire life in the subterranean caves of Van Gio Island (where it was found). The researchers from Fauna & Flora International who described it have expressed amazement at its survival in such a small habitat - Van Gio Island's narrow arms have a maximum width of only 400m (1,300 feet). In addition to this small habitat, the cave D. narinosus was found in is only 200m (650 feet) from the sea.
Though it's unknown whether there are any other species in this genus, several other loaches have been discovered in nearby caves and await description. D. narinosus' adaptations, specifically the lack of eyes, pigment and scales, are all frequently seen in cave-dwelling species. The similarities between D. narinosus and loaches known from caves in Guangxi (China) in the Oreonectes genus may hint at shared evolutionary history.
Photo credit: M Kottelat/Revue suisse de Zoologie.
http://www.livescience.com/
http://www.fauna-flora.org/
http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/
D. narinosus has a very small habitat to live in. Like other cave fish, it only lives in freshwater and so is unable to expand into the sea. It's estimated to spend its entire life in the subterranean caves of Van Gio Island (where it was found). The researchers from Fauna & Flora International who described it have expressed amazement at its survival in such a small habitat - Van Gio Island's narrow arms have a maximum width of only 400m (1,300 feet). In addition to this small habitat, the cave D. narinosus was found in is only 200m (650 feet) from the sea.
Though it's unknown whether there are any other species in this genus, several other loaches have been discovered in nearby caves and await description. D. narinosus' adaptations, specifically the lack of eyes, pigment and scales, are all frequently seen in cave-dwelling species. The similarities between D. narinosus and loaches known from caves in Guangxi (China) in the Oreonectes genus may hint at shared evolutionary history.
Photo credit: M Kottelat/Revue suisse de Zoologie.
http://www.livescience.com/
http://www.fauna-flora.org/
http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/
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