A new groundwater fish species, 'Gitchak Nakana', has been recently discovered in Assam.
About Gitchak nakana:
It is a new species of groundwater fish.
It belongs to a newly described genus within the family Cobitidae (loaches).
Named Gitchak nakana, the species draws from the Garo language, “Gitchak” meaning red, referencing its striking blood-red live colour, and “na-tok” and “kana” referring to a blind fish.
It displays classic subterranean adaptations, or troglomorphies: no externally visible eyes, a translucent, pigmentless body, and extreme miniaturization.
It is the most unusual among other groups due to the complete lack of a skull roof, with the brain covered dorsally only by skin.
It lives in aquifers, groundwater habitats far more difficult to access.
While more than 300 fish species worldwide are known from subterranean habitats, the vast majority inhabit caves.
Fewer than 10 percent are known from groundwater aquifers, making such discoveries rare.
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