Scientists have struck gold while searching for fish in a Chinese cave, having discovered a brand-new species that’s not only got a gilded exterior, but also appears to still be evolving.

The previously unknown Xingren golden-line fish appears to be still evolving for cave life. . | Credit: Xiao M-Y, Wang J-J, Luo T, Zhou J-J, Xiao N, Zhou J (2025), Zoosystematics and Evolution (CC ...

A Claea scet, or SCET stone loach, in its natural habitat. Photo from Lei, He, Huang, Zhou and He (2025) Scientists took a closer look at the cave-dwelling fish, tested its DNA and quickly realized ...

A team of Indian and foreign cavers have found four specimens of blind cave fish from Krem Um Ladaw and discovered Lungchung Khur as the country''s 10th longest cave during an expedition in East ...

Deep inside the cave, Willyanto noticed several shallow pools with some fish that clearly “lacked eyes.” Intrigued, the cavers photographed the animals and later shared the footage to a team ...

Some golden-line fish have lost their scales and eyes as part of adaptations to cave life — there's no point having eyes if it's too dark to see anything. The newfound species, which the ...