River creature with ‘elongated’ nose found in China cave. It’s a new species
In an underground river of southern China, a “smooth” yellow creature with an “elongated” nose swam through the water. Its “reduced” eyes scanned the surrounding cave, but it wasn’t the only one looking around.
Visiting scientists spotted the “pale” animal — and discovered a new species.
A team of researchers visited some rocky karst caves in Guizhou Province in 2023 as part of a project to survey aquatic cave life. The area was a known biodiversity hotspot, and the team suspected it may have “additional undiscovered” animals, according to a study published Aug. 5 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
Sure enough, while searching a cave in Xiuwen County, researchers found a few unfamiliar-looking loach fish, the study said. They took a closer look at the fish, analyzed their DNA and realized they’d discovered a new species: Triplophysa xiuwenensis, or the Xiuwen cavefish.
Xiuwen cavefish have “smooth and scaleless” bodies reaching about 3.5 inches in length, the study said. Their heads are “conical” with eyes “reduced to black dot(s)” and “three pairs” of whisker-like barbels. Their nostrils have an “elongated barbel-like tip.”
A photo shows the new species, which is pigmentless but looks “pale yellow,” researchers said.
Xiuwen cavefish were found “at the outlet of a karst cave,” but much about their lifestyle and behavior remains unknown, the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after Xiuwen County where it was first discovered and, so far, the only place where it has been found. Xiuwen County is in Guizhou Province of southern China and a roughly 1,300-mile drive southwest from Beijing.
The new species was identified by eye size, body proportions, lack of pigmentation, fin shape and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 2% genetic divergence from other loach species.
The research team included Ting-Ting Zhu, Feng-Hua Yuan, Ren-Yi Zhang and Ya-Hui Zhao.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM with the headline "River creature with ‘elongated’ nose found in China cave. It’s a new species."
