Tiny-toothed creature — with ‘interesting’ yellow body and green snout — is new species
A small, yellow creature torpedoed through the water, making its way through the Mahanadi River in India — and straight into a researcher’s net.
Scientists were exploring the river when they collected 21 specimens of the peculiar fish. It was a new species known as Awaous motla, according to a study published Oct. 27 in the Journal of Fish Biology.
The new species of fish belongs to the Awaous genus and is a type of goby — a small, carnivorous fish — that occurs in both tropical and subtropical waters, researchers said. Awaous are distinguished by their “elongated” bodies and heads, cone-shaped snout and fleshy upper lips.
Awaous motla are an “interesting yellow-colored” goby that live within an approximately 95-mile stretch of the Mahanadi River between Sonepur and Kantilo in eastern India, according to the study. The species was named after the local name for the fish.
The creatures have a slender, cylindrical body with a large head, scientists said. Their dark green snout is robust and long, and their fleshy upper lip and jaw is larger than their lower jaw.
The fish have noticeably small eyes, and their teeth are “small and conical,” the study said. They have irregular black spots and streaks, and their tail is yellow with “vertical wavy brown lines.”
Researchers said the largest specimen they collected was about 8 inches in total length.
Local communities rely on the species, both for consumption and to sell, according to scientists. The fish are sold for a high price and can be both fresh and dry.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Tiny-toothed creature — with ‘interesting’ yellow body and green snout — is new species."
