Credit: Britz, Hui and Rüber (2024), shared by Ralf Britz |
In a river of southern Myanmar, a “fire”-eyed creature swam through the water. Maybe it was the shiny scales or the nearly fluorescent coloring, because something about the animal caught the attention of nearby scientists. It turned out to be a new species. Researchers visited the Kra Buri River on a wildlife survey in 2022, according to a study published Jan. 15 in the journal Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
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While there, researchers found several brightly colored fish, the study said. The fish matched some available in the aquarium trade but did not appear in scientific records. Taking a closer look at the animals, researchers realized they’d discovered a new species: Channa pyrophthalmus, or the fire-eyed snakehead fish.
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