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Walking Fish Likened to Tetrapods

Accepted submission by butthurt at 2016-04-01 02:34:38
Science

In Nature Scientific Reports [nature.com], scientists have noted that the gait and pelvic structure of a walking fish [wikipedia.org] resemble those of tetrapods [wikipedia.org] (four-limbed animals such as reptiles, mammals, birds and amphibians). They write that "the behaviour and morphology of Cryptotora are unique as compared to both swimming fishes and walking salamanders." They note that the fish's fins lack digits.

The fish, Cryptotora thamicola [wikipedia.org], inhabits caves in Mae Hong Son Province [wikipedia.org] in northern Thailand and is blind. It is listed as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [iucnredlist.org]. No other members of the genus are known.

A video is available via Youtube [youtube.com]; the walking can be seen at around 112 seconds in.

Discovery News [discovery.com] has a story about the fish.


Original Submission