Rare blind fish found in underground river in Iraq’s Anbar desert

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraqi security and environmental teams have discovered a fascinating underground water system deep under the dry Anbar desert, where rare eyeless fish thrive in total darkness. The location is in the Al-Khasfa region near Haditha, and crews traveled through a remote desert cave and sinkhole system to access running groundwater hundreds of meters under the surface. The expedition’s footage shows little, pale fish moving in the subterranean water in the lack of sunshine. The fish have evolved to live in darkness by losing their eyes and pigmentation, giving them a characteristic white-to-pink look. The crew traveled more than 500 meters into the cave system despite challenging terrain and low oxygen levels. The difference between above- and underground has piqued interest: underneath what seems to be an isolated and very arid stretch of western Iraqi desert, there is flowing freshwater and a specialized ecology. Initial investigations have also suggested a link between the subterranean water system and the Euphrates basin, with the watercourse possibly running for a long distance under the desert. However, environmental experts have highlighted that the blind fish themselves are not a novel finding. Qais Najeh, the chairman of the Anbar Environment Directorate, stated that experts first confirmed the occurrence of eyeless fish in Al-Khasfa in 2010. Similar fish have also been discovered in subterranean water near the Sheik Hadid mausoleum in Haditha district. According to experts, the fish may grow to be roughly 49 millimeters long and survive in rather steady groundwater temperatures ranging from 20 to 22 degrees Celsius. Their lack of vision and pigmentation are adaptations to generations of living in perpetually dark subterranean habitats. The recent mission is nonetheless noteworthy because it has refocused attention on one of Iraq’s least-known natural ecosystems, perhaps allowing scientists to better research the subterranean water network, its geology, and the creatures that rely on it. The fish’s severely limited environment renders it vulnerable. Changes in groundwater levels, pollution, or human intervention might endanger a population that has acclimated to highly particular subsurface circumstances. The Al-Khasfa location offers a unique dimension to Anbar, a region best known for its wide western desert and the Euphrates. Hidden under that terrain lies an environment few Iraqis have ever seen: flowing subterranean water that feeds fish who have evolved to survive their entire lives without sunshine. The post Rare blind fish found in underground river in Iraq’s Anbar desert appeared first on Iraqi News.