New Eyeless Fish Species Discovered In Vietnam

A new eyeless fish species has been discovered on a small island in Ha Long Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) reported Friday.

New Eyeless Fish (Photo courtesy of FFI)

Apart from having no eyes, the inch-long fish also has no markings and lacks scales, which are common adaptations for animals that have evolved in the total darkness of deep limestone caves, FFI said.

The new fish, named Draconectes narinosus, was discovered by University of Ljubljana biologists Boris Sket and Peter Trontelj on the tiny and contorted Van Gio Island during an extensive survey of Ha Long Bay’s biodiversity.

The name of the new eyeless fish derives from the Greek for dragon (drakon) and swimmer (nectes) – a reference to Ha Long which means ‘descending dragon’ (so-called because, according to local legend, the landscape was created by a dragon). The Latin ‘narinosus’ means ‘who has large nostrils'.

According to FFI, the fish appears to be restricted to the island, which has long, narrow arms with a maximum width of just 400 metres. The cave’s freshwater lake (where the fish was found) is barely 200 metres from the sea and at about sea level. It is thus extremely sensitive to rainfall and climate change, as well as human activities.

FFI is a leading NGO for the conservation of limestone karst and cave conservation, and has run a variety of projects in karst landscapes throughout the Asia-Pacific region.