Deep inside a mountain cave in <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/world-news/article/china-earthquake-magnitude-5-2-earthquake-in-southwest-china-kills-two-thousands-evacuated-23630936" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">southwestern China</a>, scientists found a tiny freshwater snail that has no eyes, almost no color, and a translucent shell that reveals its delicate body beneath.
The newly identified species, Erhaia dijiang, is the first freshwater cave snail ever documented in China. It was discovered in Hongta District of Yuxi City, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/world-news/article/After-coronavirus--man-dies-of-hantavirus-in-China--says-official-media-22696216" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Yunnan Province</a>.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2026/aug/Snail_e.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" />
The finding fills a gap in the study of<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/ancient-reservoir-discovered-at-elephanta-island-reveals-advanced-water-management-23623359" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> East Asia&rsquo;s underground freshwater ecosystems</a>, which remain far less explored than many habitats at the surface.&nbsp;Erhaia dijiang is a troglobiont, meaning it is specialised for life entirely within caves.&nbsp;
Its eyes and related structures have disappeared through evolution, while its body lacks the pigmentation that protects many surface animals from sunlight.
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Scientists discovered China’s first freshwater cave snail in Yunnan. The eyeless species has little pigmentation and a translucent shell

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Scientists have identified a new freshwater cave snail, Erhaia dijiang, deep inside a mountain cave in Yunnan Province, China

Scientists discover China’s first freshwater cave snail in Yunnan

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