Intrigued, researchers caught a few of the brown fish and took a closer look at the animals. They quickly realized they’d discovered a new species: Paranemachilus liui, or Liu’s cave loach.

Photos show the dark brown coloring of the new species. Its sides have some blackish stripes, its fins are pale yellow and its underside is pinkish. Gelao loaches were found “at the bottom of ...

Researchers said a “rapid decline” of plant life and the introduction of a new species may have led to the loach’s disappearance. Photo by Liu, Lyu, Du, Chen (2025) In a deep pond rich with ...