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New family of bony fish from Western Ghats, Aenigmachannidae, are "living fossils"

Updated: 27 Oct 2020, 06:01 PM IST



​Western Ghats spring up a surprise


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​Western Ghats spring up a surprise



According to a report by PTI, scientists from India, Germany, United Kingdom and Switzerland have discovered a new family of bony fish from the Western Ghats, and named it Aenigmachannidae. Results of this study was published in ‘Scientific Reports,’ the open-access mega-journal of the Nature Publishing Group.

Representative Image (In pic: Aenigmachanna gollum)




​A year after Gollum Snakehead


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​A year after Gollum Snakehead



A year after the discovery of the enigmatic Gollum Snakehead, Aenigmachanna gollum from the rice fields of northern Kerala, scientists have now conducted detailed studies on its skeleton and genetic assembly.

The study led to the recognition that this species, and its congener Aenigmachanna mahabali, represents a new family different from Channidae, in which both species were initially placed.


Representative Image


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​Living fossils


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​Living fossils



Rendered images obtained from high-resolution CT scans revealed that Aenigmachanna Gollum has a surprisingly large number of primitive characters, and detailed molecular phylogenetic analyses including of its mitogenome, suggested an ancient separation from Channidae, the study said.

These suggest that members of Aenigmachannidae are “living fossils” and comprise an ancient gondwanan lineage that survived the break-up of the supercontinent and the northward drift of the Indian subcontinent, about 100 million years ago, it added.
Representative Image


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​Discovered by pure chance


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​Discovered by pure chance



While Aenigmachanna gollum was discovered by pure chance in a rice field not long after the devastating floods that raged in Kerala in August 2018, Aenigmachanna mahabali was discovered opportunistically from a dug-out well. “The aquifers of Kerala have a wealth of enigmatic and relic fauna, the diversity of which we are only slowly uncovering.

Representative Image


iStock




​Harbouring the bizarre


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​Harbouring the bizarre



According to scientists, the subterranean ecosystems of Kerala harbour some of the planet’s most bizarre species such as Horaglanis krishnaii, Kryptoglanis shajii, Aenigmachanna gollum and Monopterus digressus.

Many of these species are blind, pigment-less, and have peculiar morphological characters that are otherwise not seen in species occurring in surface waters. Around 10 such enigmatic species of subterranean fish are currently known from Kerala, the scientists said.
Representative Image


iStock


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New family of bony fish from Western Ghats, Aenigmachannidae, are "living fossils" New family of bony fish from Western Ghats, Aenigmachannidae, are "living fossils" Reviewed by TechCO on 11/13/2020 Rating: 5

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