New, eyeless fish species discovered in Indiana caves

FROM IDS REPORTS

A new fish species was recently discovered in Indiana.
It was originally thought to be the same species as a cavefish living south of the Ohio River.
However, the Hoosier cavefish actually has different DNA, according to a study published by Louisiana State University professor Prosanta Chakrabarty in ZooKeys, a biodiversity research journal.
The Hoosier cavefish possesses an abnormal appearance — it’s eyeless and without skin pigment.
This is because it lives in dark caves, where having eyes and camouflage do not create any real advantage.
“The one from Indiana, the new one, has a functional rhodopsin gene so it still makes the proteins and everything it needed for vision, but it’s not actually doing anything because there are no eyes,” Chakrabarty said.

Brian Seymour