Tiny, blind fish discovered in Assam well
A tiny, blind fish called Gitchak nakana has just been discovered in a well in Assam.
At only 20mm long and lacking externally visible eyes and appearing mostly transparent, showing a reddish life color, it's the first aquifer-dwelling fish found in Northeast India, and the first aquifer-dwelling fish recorded from Northeast India (and the eastern Himalayan region).
Fish has some wild adaptations
Gitchak nakana has some wild adaptations: lacks externally visible eyes, appears mostly transparent and shows a reddish life color, and even its brain is just covered by skin (no skull roof at all).
These features help it survive in pitch-dark groundwater where food is super scarce and relatively few fish species worldwide live underground (around 300), and far fewer are known from aquifers.
Discovery adds to India's known underground fish diversity
The team behind the discovery began collecting these fish in 2021 and published their findings recently.
This adds to India's reputation as a hotspot for underground fish diversity—states such as Meghalaya and Kerala have multiple known subterranean species, showing there's still plenty left to discover beneath our feet.