07/30/2026
Still so many undiscovered critters out there!
Should I make a trip to a remote part of Asia or South America to collect some fish?
𝑅𝑎𝑘𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖, a new species of phreatobitic swamp eel (Synbranchidae), is described from wells in a small village in Goalpara District, Assam, northeast India.
"The discovery of 𝑅. 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖 from wells in the same village in which 𝐺𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑘 𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑛𝑎 Britz et al. was recently described highlights the presence of a formerly unknown and highly dynamic subterranean habitat: the groundwater aquifers in alluvial deposits in northeast India."
Phreatobitic refers to organisms (phreatobites) that live exclusively within the phreatic zone, which is the subterranean area of groundwater aquifers completely saturated with water.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
𝑅𝑎𝑘𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖, a new species of phreatobitic synbranchid eel from Assam
Paywall - https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5857.3.3
𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Britz, R., Pinion, A.K., Marak, W.K., Velentina, K. & Lokeshwor, Y. (2026) 𝑅𝑎𝑘𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖, a new species of phreatobitic synbranchid eel from Assam. Zootaxa, 5857 (3), 462–482. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5857.3.3
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
𝑅𝑎𝑘𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖, a new species of phreatobitic synbranchid is described from wells in a small village in Goalpara District, Assam, Northeast India.
It is distinguished from the northeastern Indian 𝑅. 𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑠𝑎𝑤, and the Western Ghats congeners 𝑅. 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑖, 𝑅. 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑠, and 𝑅. 𝑚𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑎 by absence of lateral-line canal pores in the frontal. From 𝑅. 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑖, 𝑅. 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑠, and 𝑅. 𝑚𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑎, it is further distinguished by more preanal vertebrae (90–100 vs. 76–88 in) and from 𝑅. 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑠 by more vertebrae (159 vs.162–169). It is also distinguished from the Western Ghats species by an uncorrected p-distance of ~15–20% in the barcoding gene. From 𝑅. 𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑖, the only Western Ghats species for which detailed osteological information is available, 𝑅. 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖 is distinguished by several anatomical characters.
The discovery of 𝑅. 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖 from wells in the same village in which 𝐺𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑘 𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑛𝑎 Britz et al. was recently described highlights the presence of a formerly unknown and highly dynamic subterranean habitat: the groundwater aquifers in alluvial deposits in northeast India.
𝗘𝘁𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆
The species name is derived from the Garo word ‘an·chi’, meaning ‘blood’ alluding to its blood-red colouration in life.
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
Top (Fig. 3) - 𝑅𝑎𝑘𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑖, paratypes, KUFOS.F.50–52.1.1., 255–318 mm TL, India: Assam: Goalpara District, illustrating colouration in life. A, Three paratypes, shortly after collection. B, Paratype, KUFOS.F.50.1.1., 318 mm TL in lateral view. C, Same individual, close-up of head region. D, Paratype, KUFOS.F.52.1.1., 255 mm TL, close-up of head region
Bottom (Fig. 4) - Abandoned well from which paratypes were collected. A, Overview of well. B, View into the well illustrating algae and moss-covered upper loamy-sandy and vegetation-free lower loamy part.
© 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal Zootaxa.
