New cave fish discovered in Meghalaya

Shillong: A group of scientists has identified a new species of loach in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills district, near Bangladesh border, officials said on Thursday.

Loach is a freshwater bottom-dwelling fish and found across rivers in South East Asia.

The species, Schistura sonarengaensis, was discovered in Sonarenga, Nakama, and Chiabol caves in the district, they added.

Funded by the ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources in Lucknow, the discovery was led by Dr Khlur Mukhim, principal of Lady Keane College, a team from Guwahati University, among others.

The research paper was officially published on Wednesday by Wiley-Blackwell, an international Journal of Fish Biology of the Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

"A new species of nemacheilid loach, Schistura sonarengaensis sp. nov., is described from three cave-dwelling populations (Barak-Surma-Meghna drainage) in the South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, India," Wiley-Blackwell said in its publication.

The species is distinguished by its prominent eyes and 13-26 vertically elongated to circular black blotches on a grayish-black mid-lateral stripe, over a dull white or pale-beige body, it added.

Despite lacking the typical adaptations for subterranean life, such as complete loss of eyes or pigmentation, this species shows reduced pigmentation compared to surface-dwelling relatives. Genetic molecular analysis has confirmed its distinction from other known species in the region, officials said.

Mukhim noted that while these cave-dwelling fish are somewhat pale, they are not blind like other cave species found in Jaintia and Khasi Hills. The new species retains prominent eyes and is distinct from other Schistura species in the Barak-Surma-Meghna and adjacent river drainages of northeast India, except for Schistura syngkai, Mukhim added.