International team discovers new blind aquifer-dwelling fish species Gitchak nakana in Assam well

Key facts

• An international team of fish taxonomists from Germany, India and Switzerland described the new genus and species Gitchak nakana from a dug-out well in an Assam village.
• Gitchak nakana is the first aquifer-dwelling fish species recorded from Northeast India and the eastern Himalayan landscape.
• The species name combines the Garo word 'Gitchak' meaning red, with 'na-tok' and 'kana' meaning blind fish, reflecting its red colour and absence of eyes.
• The fish belongs to a new genus within the family Cobitidae.
• The discovery was published in Scientific Reports, a Nature portfolio journal.
• The single well locality is undisclosed due to the species being found only there and in very low numbers.
• Rajeev Raghavan, assistant professor at Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos) and South Asia chair of IUCN SSC Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, was part of the team.