Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray's son Tejas discovers new blind eel species in Mumbai well

A new species of a blind swamp eel belonging to the genus Rakthamichthys that is endemic to India was discovered from a suburban Mumbai well by naturalist Tejas Thackeray officials said here on ThursdayI believe its my most remarkable discovery till date A new species of a blind hypogean freshwater eel from Mumbai named as Rakthamichthys Mumba after my home city Mumbai an excited Tejas Thackeray the younger son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saidUnlike other species of this genus the Rakthamichthys Mumba has no eyes fins or scales has jaws equal in forward extent different gill aperture crescentricshaped cephalic according to Zoological Society of India scientist Anil Mohapatra quoted by DownToEarth magazineMohapatra is the coauthor of Rakthamichthys Mumba with Thackeray Praveenraj Jayasimhan and Annam PavanKumar and after extensive analysis it was established that the blind eel is a new discovery and their research has been published in the Aqua International Journal of IchthyologyTejas Thackeray of Wildlife Foundation discovered the eel in a 40feetdeep well in the compound of a school for the blind in Jogeshwari west in 2019 and he collected five specimens of the species after completely pumping out the well waterAlso read Tejas Thackeray team finds new gecko species in Western GhatsAs per the research paper description the species has a slender subcylindrically elongated body and is cord or threadlike with striations on the muscle the middle portion of the bulbous head is the deepest and widest part of its bodyThe four scientists further described the new find saying all the teeth of the species are similar small stout pointed recurved and closely the body is pinkishred with numerous blood vessels and the present known habitat of this species is only the Mumbai wellRakthamichthys Mumba differs from its congener from Western Ghats of India by the possession of jawsprojecting forward equally when viewed laterally absence of eyes and having more vertebrae said the research paperThis is the first completely blind subterranean freshwater fish species to be described from Maharashtra amp the Northernwestern Ghats The species name Mumba refers to the type locality the city of Mumbai and it is derived from the Marathi Mumba Aai the deity worshipped by Mumbaikars said Tejas ThackerayHe added that virtually nothing is known about the the level of endemism distribution patterns biographic barriers causing speciation factors and a surreal species like this is to conserve nature the water table beneath the soil and keep the aquifers clean to help enigmatic beauties like these surviveMohapatra told the DownToEarth that the synbranchidae family members are very peculiar relict lineages of percomorphs consisting of eellike fishes distributed across all countries except AntarcticaPresently this family consists of 26 valid species and are unique among teleosts by lacking paired median and caudal fins as per the team of Thackeray Mohapatra Jayasimhan and PavanKumarLets not forget we share this planet with amazing creatures big and small Some so cryptic that their mere existence is a myth Thackeray said in a gentle message to preserve the earthThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever