Amazonian expedition searches out rare fish from the clouds

Amazonian expedition searches out rare fish from the clouds

By Adelle Santelli

Source: mongabay

12/6/2023

Credit: Gustavo Fonseca

Researchers carried out a massive survey in the Brazilian Amazon for so-called annual rivulids, a family of fish whose eggs survive in a hibernation state during drought and then hatch when it rains — a phenomenon that’s earned them the name “fish from the clouds.”
There are 200 species of annual rivulids in Brazil, nearly half of which are at risk of extinction; their fragile ecosystems — ponds, swamps and marshes — are highly vulnerable to infrastructure works like highways, ports and hydroelectric dams.

Little studied in the Amazon, these species are subjected to stress brought on by human occupation; three new endemic species discovered during the expedition live in the Belo Monte hydropower dam’s area of influence.
The survival of annual rivulids could be guaranteed by environmental licensing laws, but proposed legislation currently in the Senate could weaken those guidelines.

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