World's Largest Cave Fish Discovered In Meghalaya, It's 1.5 ft In Length & Has No Eyes

The world¡¯s largest species of cave fish was recently discovered in India. It measures over 40cm (one and a half feet) in length and it was found inside a remote cave in Meghalaya¡¯s Jaintia Hills.

The details of the find were published in a recent research that appeared in the issue of Cave and Karst Science, a journal published by the British Cave Research Association.

Cave and Kart Science

The fish has no eyes and is white for lack of melanin pigmentation. It is related to Golden Mahseer.

¡®It has always been assumed that cave fishes exceeding 350mm (35cm) would be most unlikely on resource grounds but this has now been shown to be spectacularly wrong,' the research reads.

It further says, ¡®The fish discovered in Meghalaya is not only substantially longer than the longest previously known species but is considerably more bulky with a body mass likely to exceed that of the next largest cave fish by at least an order of magnitude¡¯.

Apparently the researchers had found similar fish more than two decades ago, in a cave located 8km away from the present location. However, back then they could not capture the fish and take clear pictures.

According to the researchers, the fish is bulky in size because of ample and regular food supply in the cave, especially during the rainy season when vegetation enters inside.

There were hundreds of similar fish in the cave.

Robbie Shone

¡®When first encountered the fish appeared unresponsive to light, although they did react to the water disturbance created by the cavers wading through the pools. Although it seems that they were initially unresponsive to light, they are certainly able to perceive light,¡¯ the research reads.

Nature has many surprises hidden in its depths.