Researchers have discovered a new species of cavefish at Redstone Arsenal.
Why it matters: There are still natural wonders to be found right under our noses (or feet).
The big picture: Matthew Niemiller, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, is the lead author of a new paper in Scientific Reports, detailing the Demogorgonichthys arcanus.
- The fish was discovered in Bobcat Cave — a well-studied karst system on the western side of the arsenal — described in the paper as “the focus of long-term biological and hydrological monitoring associated with the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp.”
- It’s a new genus and species of cavefish, which are fish that have adapted to life in the darkness of subterranean caves.
- Niemiller and his 11 co-authors — including his wife, K. Denise Kendall Niemiller, and students of his — gave it the common name demon cavefish.
Zoom in: Fans of “Stranger Things” or Dungeons & Dragons might recognize the scientific name researchers picked for the cavefish, drawing from the monsters that prowl the Upside Down: demogorgons.
- The idea, which Niemiller credited to co-author Pamela Hart, arose because they wanted a name more evocative than the “boring” names that are generally geographical or directional (Alabama, Southern and so forth).
- It’s descriptive of this species, because like the demogorgon, which originates in Greek mythology, it lives underground unbeknownst to the bustling arsenal and city above, hence the other name, arcanus, meaning “hidden.”
What they’re saying: “I’m an ’80s kid from Indiana, so ‘Stranger Things’ resonates,” Niemiller tells Axios. “It fits so well.”…