Itanagar, May 22: A rare fish species, Moringua hodgarti, has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley after more than 110 years. Originally documented during the Abor Expedition of 1911–1912, the species had not been recorded since.
The rediscovery was made by a team of Indian researchers—Nilanjan Mukherjee, Rahul G Kumar, Surya Narayanan, and Aravind N.A.—who collected new specimens during field surveys conducted between January and October 2022. Their findings were published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The fish, commonly known as a swamp eel, belongs to the Synbranchidae family and measures between 177 mm and 211 mm. These eels are notable for their absence of paired fins and ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen through specialized organs.
Further analysis led to the reclassification of the species under the genus Ophichthys, renaming it Ophichthys hodgarti. The original six specimens collected during the British-era expedition are preserved at the Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata.
The researchers highlighted that the rediscovery underscores significant gaps in knowledge about cryptic freshwater species and calls for increased scientific exploration in remote areas such as the Siang Valley.
