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Aenigmachanna gollum belongs to an ancient family of fish, called dragon snake heads, which preserves its primitive characteristics. Scientists have named it in honor of the dark character from JRR Tolkien's epic saga. The Lord of the rings.
It looks like a dragon, swims like an eel, and has been hidden for a hundred million years. After a post on social media, it piqued the curiosity of a researcher in Kerala. And this is what he discovered.
living fossil
The discovery of a new family of fish is very rare. Dragon snakeheads have eluded scientists until now because they live in underground aquifers and come to the surface only after heavy flooding caused by rain.
According to your study, the closest relative of the family Aenigmachannidae is he Channidae, of which at least 50 species can be found in the streams and lakes of Asia and tropical Africa. According to molecular analyses, the two families separated 34 million – 109 million years ago.
Based on computed tomography, molecular genetics and morphological methods, Ben's study was able to detect several significant differences between the Aenigmachanna and other snakehead fish of the Channidae family.
It is therefore suggested that Aenigmachanna It is a lineage of Gondwana, which has survived the breakup of the supercontinent, with India separating from Africa about 120 million years ago.
We are, therefore, facing a living fossil.
The lack of evolution can be seen in the shortened swim bladder of dragon snakeheads, as well as a smaller number of vertebrae with ribs. These indicate that the family is less specialized than normal snakeheads. The family also has eyes and reddish-brown pigmentation, which is unusual as most subterranean fish are pale and have no eyes.
Unlike the Channidae, the Aenigmachannidae They also lack the suprabranchial organ that allows them to breathe air and proliferate widely.
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The news
Aenigmachanna gollum, the bony fish named after Gollum, from 'The Lord of the Rings'
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.
Here's what we know.