New Fish Species Found in India Survives Out of Water

Written on 05/31/2025
Abdul Moeed

A new fish species in Indian’s Meghalaya caves can survive out of water, a rare trait that caught researchers’ attention. Credit: Unknown / CC BY-SA 4.0

A new species of fish seems able to survive out of water has been found in the northeastern Indian cave. This rare discovery offers scientists fresh insight into how animals adapt to drastically different environments.

The fish, named Schistura densiclava, was first observed two years ago by zoologist Khlur Baiaineh Mukhim in a stream deep inside Krem Mawjymbuin, a cave in Meghalaya’s eastern Khasi Hills. Its striking yellow-green color, long feelers near the mouth, and, unusually for cave fish, visible eyes, immediately caught attention.

Typically, fish that live in dark caves lose their eyesight over time. The absence of light means they no longer need to see, so evolution favors other survival traits. However, this newly discovered fish breaks that pattern.

Fish adapted to life in light and darkness with almost no water

Researchers recently confirmed Schistura densiclava as a new species in a study published in the Journal of Fish Biology. Its most notable feature is its ability to thrive in both the dark, oxygen-poor cave waters and surface-level streams — a dual habitat trait not previously seen among cave fish in the region.

Professor Dandadhar Sarma, one of the researchers involved in the study, noted that the cave environment poses extreme challenges. The temperatures are significantly lower than usual for tropical fish, and oxygen levels are minimal. Despite this, the fish manages to survive deep underground — almost 60 meters below the surface — as well as in warmer, oxygen-rich streams above.

This makes Schistura densiclava the first known fish in Meghalaya’s cave systems to adapt to both above-ground and subterranean habitats. It is also the sixth cave fish species identified in the state.

Unique habitat home to rare species

Meghalaya contains one of the world’s largest and most intricate cave networks, with more than 1,500 known limestone and sandstone caves. Many of them remain uncharted due to the rough, forest-covered terrain. These caves shelter a wide variety of animal life, much of which has yet to be studied.

A government-backed team has been exploring these underground systems in recent years to discover and document new species. In 2019, the same group identified Neolissochilus pnar, the world’s largest known cave fish, in the western Jaintia Hills.

Mukhim, who has dedicated over ten years to exploring Meghalaya’s caves, explained that cave fish have evolved unique traits to survive. Living in total darkness, they lose their eyesight and skin color. Instead, they develop stronger senses of smell and touch, which help them navigate and find food in the still, shallow waters. These fish often endure long periods with little food and rely on sources like decomposing plants, small aquatic creatures, and even bat droppings.

Despite such harsh living conditions, some species can live up to ten years and reproduce in the caves. Notably, the young are born with sight, likely a remnant of their surface-dwelling ancestry, but lose vision as they mature in darkness.

Catching these fish is an intense task. Researchers often lower themselves into deep caves, crawl through tight tunnels, and wait for hours in the dark, using only headlamps to spot the fish briefly surfacing for air.