Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, 10 Jun: The elusive fish species swamp eel (Ophichthys hodgarti) and the velvet worm (Typhloperipatus williamsoni) have been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh after over 100 years.
A team of researchers discovered the eel in the Siang valley in 2022. The discovery of the fish species was published in the latest edition of the journal Zootaxa.
“Delighted to share that the elusive fish species Ophichthys hodgarti has been rediscovered in Arunachal Pradesh’ Siang valley, over a century after it was first documented during the Abor Expedition (1911–1912),” Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein wrote in his social media handle recently.
“Endemic to this region and known for its ability to breathe atmospheric oxygen, this rediscovery highlights the unique and largely unexplored biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
The rediscovery of the worm, first recorded in 1913, was published in the Journal of Natural History. It was rediscovered in Kallek and Yingku.
Two plant species — Strobilanthes tubiflos and Tupistra stoliczkana — were rediscovered in East Siang valley in 2020.
Further, the researchers have discovered several species of freshwater crabs, damselfly, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, plants and birds which are new to science.
While freshwater crabs – Abormon praecalvum and Abormon capillosum – were discovered in Upper Siang in 2021, while the damselfly golden grisette (Devadatta adii), the shadow damsel (Yunnanosticta siangi) and the bearded bronzeback (Caliphaea sinuofurcata) were found in Upper Siang and Shi-Yomi districts.
Fish species, including benthic (Exostoma tenuicaudata) sisorid catfish (Glyptothorax rupiri), benthic (Aborichthys bajpaii), disorid catfish (Exostoma dhritiae) chedrinae (Opsarius siangi), and sisorid catfishes (Glyptothorax siangensis) were discovered in the Siang river during the period from 2015 to 2022.
While the Adi cascade (Amolops adicola) frog was discovered in Upper Siang in 2021, 10 insects, including nine wasps and metallic-blue ant (Paraparatrechin a neela) were discovered in Upper Siang district in between 2021 to 2024.
Lizard—bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus siangensis) and the Mebo giant flying squirrel (Petaurista siangensis), which are new to science, were recorded in 2018-2022 and 2020, respectively in East Siang.
The new plant species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh were Impatiens siangensis, Peliosanthes ligniradicis, Henckelia siangensis, Lysionotus chatungii, Begonia pasighatensis, Begonia oyuniae, Impatiens pasighatensis, Begonia kekarmonyingensis, Begonia egamii, Begonia egamii, Strobilanthes siangensis, Agapetes siangensis, Begonia aborensis, Boeica clarkei, Camelia siangensis, Colocasia adiana, Henckelia pathakii, Meiogyne arunachalensis, Musa siangensis, Psychotria aborensis, Stapletonia rigoense, and Syzygium aborense.
All of the plant species have been discovered in the Siang valley during 2015 to 2024.
A crying keelback snake (Hebius lacrima) was discovered in 2019 in Lower Siang.
Additionally, over 100 bird species have been described for the first time (new distribution) in Arunachal Pradesh, particularly in Upper Siang and Siang district.
The birds are the orange-breasted green pigeon, banded bay cuckoo, house swift, white-breasted waterhen, common crane, red-wattled lapwing, black stork, Amur falcon, Eurasian hobby, yellow-browed warbler, Hume’s warbler, grey-sided bush warbler, yellow-bellied warbler, grey-headed parrotbill, long-billed wren babbler, Sikkim treecreeper, scaly thrush, slaty-blue flycatcher, purple sunbird, barred cuckoo dove, Asian emerald cuckoo, plaintive cuckoo, square-tailed drongo cuckoo, large hawk cuckoo, lesser cuckoo, Indian cuckoo, Himalayan cuckoo, common cuckoo, Asian palm swift, barred buttonquail, oriental bay owl, blue-eared kingfisher, dollarbird, lineated barbet, grey-capped pygmy woodpecker, great slaty woodpecker, black-crested bulbul, buff-barred warbler, tickell’s leaf warbler, Hume’s bush warbler, pin-striped tit babbler, red-faced liocichla, spotted elachura, great myna, pale blue flycatcher, lesser shortwing, yellow-bellied flowerpecker, plain flowerpecker, northern pintail, greylag goose, common teal, mallard, white-throated needletail, white-rumped spinetail, common sandpiper, green sandpiper, Asian emerald dove, wedge-tailed green pigeon, white-throated kingfisher, Indochinese roller, green beeeater, Asian emerald cuckoo, grey-bellied cuckoo, greater coucal, chestnutwinged cuckoo, common cuckoo, Indian cuckoo, lesser cuckoo, Himalayan cuckoo, common hawk cuckoo, square-tailed drongo cuckoo, northern goshawk, steppe eagle, upland buzzard, lesser kestrel, oriental hobby, rufous-throated partridge, black francolin, kalij pheasant, blue-breasted quail, Eurasian moorhen, oriental skylark, fire-breasted flowerpecker, chestnut-eared bunting, crested bunting, little bunting, dark-rumped rosefinch, scarlet finch, grey-backed shrike, striated babbler, streak-throated barwing, oriental magpie robin, blue-throated flycatcher, verditer flycatcher, chestnut-bellied rock thrush, plumbeous water redstart, grey-hooded warble, brownish-flanked bush warbler, slaty-bellied tesia, chestnut-bellied nuthatch, white-tailed mnuthatch, black-headed shrike babbler, slender-billed scimitar babbler, chestnut thrush, long-tailed thrush, striated yuhina, great cormorant, pale-headed woodpecker, lesser yellownape, great barbet, Asian barred owlet, mountain scops owl, and oriental scops owl.
