06 August 2024, Lucknow: A new species of nemacheilid loach, Schistura sonarengaensis sp. nov., has been described under the NEH programme by ICAR- National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, in collaboration with Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam from three cave-dwelling populations (Barak–Surma–Meghna drainage) in the South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, India.
Despite being well renowned for their distinctive underground biodiversity, Meghalaya’s caves have been very little investigated, and the description of S. sonarengaensis sp. nov. points to the fact that there are subterranean populations of undiscovered fish species in these caverns.
The discovery was published in the renowned peer-reviewed journal ‘Journal of Fish Biology’. The species is named “sonarengaensis” with reference to the Krem(= cave) Sonarenga, from where the type specimens were first collected.
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