Scientists Discover New Genus of Electric Fish in Remote South America

In a remote region of South America lives an electric fish--one that before now has been unknown to scientists. This new fish isn't just a new species, though; it's so unique that it's a new genus. 

The fish is known as the Akawaio penak, a thin, eel-like electric fish. It was first discovered in the shallow, murky waters of the upper Mazaruni River in northern Guyana. Like other electric knifefish, the Akawaio penak has a long organ running along the base of the body that produces an electric field. Too weak to stun prey, this field is instead used to navigate, detect objects and to communicate with other electric fish.

In order to learn a bit more about this fish, though, the researchers analyzed tissue samples collected during a recent expedition to the area. By sequencing the fish's DNA and reconstructing an evolutionary tree, the scientists discovered that this fish is so distinct, it represents a new genus; that's the taxonomic classification level above species.

"The fact that this area is so remote and has been isolated for such a long time means you are quite likely to find a new species," said Nathan Lovejoy, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The Mazaruni contains many unique species that aren't found anywhere else in the world. It's an extremely important area in South America in terms of biodiversity."

While the Mazaruni River remains an important place for biodiversity, it's been relatively unexplored because of its remote location. The area contains countless rivers on top of a series of uplands that have remained isolated from the rest of South America for more than 30 million years. The fact that scientists found this new genus of fish, therefore, isn't completely unsurprising.

That said, the new finding does reveal that this area should be protected. The region is increasingly suffering from degradation due to gold-mining. Moving forward, researchers hope to protect the area and discover even more new animals.

The findings are published in the journal Zoologica Scripta.