Exciting news from the heights of the Himalayas! Researchers have just identified a brand-new catfish species, Glaridoglanis verruciloba, in Zayul County, in the southwest of the Xizang Autonomous Region in the Chinese mainland. 🐟✨
Specimens were first scooped up from the Zayul River in April 2025 by a team combining expertise from the Institute of Plateau Biology of the Xizang Autonomous Region, the Xizang Museum of Natural Science, Zaozhuang University, and the Institute of Hydrobiology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. At first, these fish were thought to be G. andersonii, but a closer look changed everything.
By mixing traditional morphological observations with molecular phylogenetic analyses, the team confirmed the fish's true identity. This catfish stands out thanks to its enlarged lower lip, which sports four to seven verruciform lobes on its central-posterior edge—giving it a unique look among its glyptosternine cousins.
Their findings appeared on December 10, 2025, in the open-access journal ZooKeys. As only the third valid species in the genus Glaridoglanis, G. verruciloba adds vital new data for piecing together the origin, diversification, and adaptive evolution of freshwater life along the southeastern margin of the Himalayas.
Discoveries like this remind us how much is still hidden beneath the surface, even in well-studied regions. Who knows what other biological treasures await in the cool, fast-flowing streams of the Himalayas? 🌄🔬
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
