Article Title: Meghalaya’s new cave dwelling fish adapts to streams overground - study
26-05-2025
Environment & Ecology Current Affairs Analysis
Context
• An underground cave in Meghalaya, in focus for a conflict over a Shivalinga-like stone formation, has yielded a new-to-science fish that adapts to streams overground.
• A team of zoologists, led by Kangkan Sarma of Gauhati University’s Department of Zoology, has recorded Schistura densiclava as a new species of troglophile loach from Krem Mawjymbuin in the State’s East Khasi Hills district.
• Troglophiles, meaning "cave lovers" in Greek, are animals that can survive outside caves but often choose to live within them
• The newly described loach, a bottom-dwelling fish with barbels hanging from the mouth, was found in a cool, fast-flowing stream about 60 metres inside the cave
• Belonging to the Nemacheilidae family, Schistura densiclava is adapted to the dark, subterranean environment but can also survive in surface waters. According to the authors, it retains pigment and eyesight, unlike other cave-dwelling fishes.
• The study said the Schistura densiclava males are slimmer with irregular patterns and puffier cheeks, while the females are sturdier with consistent markings.
• “Genetic testing confirmed it as a completely new species... The distribution of the new species is limited to the cave, which suggests endemism in this cave system,” the researchers said.
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