Gitchak nakana

Gitchak nakana Latest News

A new groundwater fish species, ‘Gitchak Nakana’, has been recently discovered in Assam.

About Gitchak nakana

• It is a new species of groundwater fish.
• This miniature, blind loach was discovered from a dug-out well in Assam, marking the first aquifer-dwelling (phreatobitic) fish recorded from Northeast India.
• 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 grows to just 2 cm and 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.

Source: IT

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