E. proudlovei not have eyes and scales and their skin is devoid of pigment.
German scientists from the Institute of ecology and fisheries of inland waters of Leibniz and the Zoological research Museum Alexander Koenig have discovered a new species of fish named Eidinemacheilus proudlovei. These animals live in underground water bodies and lack eyes. About the discovery reported in the article published in the journal Zootaxa.
Zoologists found animals, when due to heavy rains and flooding in the Zagros mountains in Iraq, the groundwater level increased. Blind fish were thrown to the surface, and scientists were able to get a few individuals. They studied morphology of animals analyzed their DNA, and compared fish with other blind members of the genus char (Salvelinus), living in the middle East.
Was that the loaches were treated to a new kind. Their closest relative is Eidinemacheilus smithi — underground fish species in Iran.
E. proudlovei not have eyes and scales and their skin is devoid of pigment. According to scientists, they feed on bacterial films on the walls of the cave, but the details of their lifestyle are still unknown, because fish live in inaccessible underground reservoirs.
