Zee Media Bureau

Itanagar: In a fresh find, a team of of ichthyologists have discovered a new species of catfish in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The new catfish was found in the Yomgo River by the ichthyologists from Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) here.

The team found the fish in the river at a depth of 1999 metres at Mechuka, said a release by the team.

The release claimed that this is the second such discovery and the new species belong to the genus Creteuchiloglanis. The first one was reportedly found at Kalaktang in West Kameng district of the state in 1966.

The holotype and paratypes of the new species were deposited and preserved in Rajiv Gandhi University Museum of Fishes (RGUMF) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Itanagar.

The team was led by Professor D N Das of RGU and included Achom Darshan Singh, Rashmi Dutta, Akash Kachari, and Budhin Gogoi, the release added.

An ichthyologist is a zoologist that studies species of fish, sharks or rays.

With Agency Inputs