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🐟 In Feb 2025, a biologist slipped in a cave pool in Alabama, disturbed a pale eyeless fish, and accidentally discovered a brand new genus of animal. Meet Demogorgonichthys arcanus - the Demon Cavefish. Its an entirely new lineage found only in one cave on a military base. Named after the Stranger Things monster, it is blind, almost albino, and so rare that scientists have seen only about 20 at a time. The most amazing part? This cave has been studied monthly for 40 years. The fish was hiding in plain sight the whole time. Scientists have no idea if it lives in deeper aquifers or just this one cave. Its rhodopsin gene is partially missing, making it completely unresponsive to light. It coexists with a different cavefish species but shares no close evolutionary relationship with it - meaning two different fish independently evolved to live in total darkness in the exact same underwater cave. phys.org/news/2026-07-demon-ca… #Science #Nature #Discovery

New 'demon' cavefish lineage discovered in Alabama cave

For decades, scientists have crawled through Bobcat Cave on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, searching its dark pools and underground passages for rare life.
Sara Falligant (Phys.org)
#nature #science #discovery
in reply to jcrabapple

Nuwagaba Gift
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Nuwagaba Gift
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I really consider myself lucky having been able to see this unique fish species, thanks so much for sharing
in reply to jcrabapple

Matthew Martin
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Matthew Martin
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Underground ecosystems are mind boggling. Microbiology lives for miles down. It will probably be some of the last life in or on the planet when the sun starts to kill all life on the surface.
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