Eyeless Cave Fish

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
(Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)

After some time ago researcher found an eyeless huntsman spider in Laos, and now a kind of the eyeless, scaleless cave fish found on a small island in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. The fish were discovered by a conservation group Fauna & Flora International was named Draconectes narinosus.

The name is derived from the word "Drakon" which means dragon in Greek, and "nectes" meaning swimming. "Narinosus" taken from the Latin, meaning "who has large nostrils."

Draconectes narinosus.
(Picture from: http://americanlivewire.com/)

The eyeless and scaleless characters are an adaptation common to animals living in darkness limestone caves. Like the other cave fish, D. narinosus can only live in fresh water so confined in an underground cave system Van Gio Island, could not swim out into the surrounding sea waters.

"This fish is remarkable for being able to survive in habitats that are very small and dangerous," said researcher Fauna & Flora International.

Van Gio Island is a formation in Ha Long Bay which has the shape of long arms and narrow with a maximum width of only 400 meters. Freshwater lake in the cave where the fish lives only 200 meters from the salty sea.

Draconectes narinosus is a cave-dwelling fish with no eyes and no scales has been discovered on a tiny island in Vietnam’s scenic Ha Long Bay. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/)

Researchers do not yet know whether there is a similar species that live on other islands around the island of Van Gio, or whether Draconectes narinosus is the only species in the new genus described Draconectesis. *** [LIVESCIENCE | KORAN TEMPO 4075]
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