An Indian man who discovered a rare new species of fish almost three years ago has found renewed fame after Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio praised his discovery online.
Abraham A, a former paramilitary soldier from the southern state of Kerala, found a new species of subterranean fish called Pathala Eel Loach in 2020.
Also known as the Pangio Pathala, the Pathala Eel Loach derives its name from the Sanskrit word Pathala which means “below the feet” – a reference to the fish’s subterranean nature.
The dark pink in colour, small and snake-like species dwell in the state’s underwater aquifers and are tricky to find.
Mr Abraham, who lives in Chengannur in Alappuzha district, said the discovery was a chance encounter – he was taking a shower when his eyes fell on “a red thread in the bucket”.
Intrigued, he scooped it in a mug to take a closer look and found the thing was moving.
Mr Abraham grabbed the closest glass jar, placed the fish inside and contacted a local college professor, Dr Binoy Thomas, who put him in touch with the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos).
In less than a month, researchers at Kufos found three more fish of the same species in Mr Abraham’s well and water tank.
“Then one day, they [the researchers] looked at the top of the water tank with a torch. And they got a fourth one there,” Mr Abraham said.
The fascinating discovery was spotlighted again last week when DiCaprio put out a colourful picture of the Pathala Eel Loach and praised Mr Abraham on Instagram.
“The wild is all around us and sometimes all it takes to discover a new species is going about a normal day,” the actor said.
The discovery, DiCaprio wrote, showed “how citizen science” was the “key for researchers to study these unknown, underground ecosystems”.
Normally, fish live in rivers, lakes or other surface waters – but Pathala Eel Loach belongs to an important group of subterranean fish which live in groundwater.
“We have around 17 to 18 such species in India and at least 11 of these are in Kerala,” Dr Rajeev Raghavan, an assistant professor at Kufos, told BBC Hindi.
These fish are unique because they are found in very few parts of the world, primarily in China – which has the largest number of groundwater fish – followed by Mexico and India.
In India, a few groundwater species are found in Maharashtra, in north-eastern states like Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, and in the eastern state of West Bengal.
“Since these fish are found in groundwater, it is difficult to catch them. The only way to get them is when they accidentally come out through taps because they live in aquifers,” Mr Raghavan said.
The aquifers are connected to wells and when the wells go dry in summer, the fish appear in tap water and household wells. Kerala, part of the southern Western Ghats, has the highest density of homestead wells in India, with close to seven million wells in the state’s highland and midland areas.
In Mr Abraham’s case the fish is believed to have gone from the groundwater into the well and from there to the water tank on the roof, before landing in his bucket.
“It is an accidental opportunistic kind of sampling,” said Dr Raghavan.
The scientist adds that not much was known about the group of fish that live in groundwater until the 1950s. And their existence in Kerala was only confirmed in 2015 when Kufos started studying them under a project funded by the Kerala government.
The university launched a Citizen Science Network to create awareness among people that such fish might just land up through taps or in the bottom of their wells when they go dry.
“We told them to call us or send us a message. That is how we have gone and collected more than 150 specimens of all the 11 species,” Dr Raghavan said.
Scientists say the discovery of Pathala Eel Loach is also significant from an evolutionary point of view.
“Most groundwater fish are very ancient,” Dr Raghavan said, adding that a study of one of the 11 species found in Kerala found their origin dating back 125 million years – an era when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.
“This means that all these groundwater fish are trapped in underground systems have been around for millions of years,” he said.
For Mr Abraham, the discovery was special from the beginning.
But it became even more special after DiCapiro’s message. “Such a big man has taken my name. I am elated and very happy,” he said.
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