"Demon cavefish" have been discovered lurking in caverns beneath a contaminated U.S. Army base in Alabama, a new study has found.
Biologists have named the pale, eyeless creatures Demogorgonichthys arcanus, after the monstrous Demogorgons from Netflix's "Stranger Things" and the underworld demon of Greek mythology from which the Demogorgon name derives. They are likely among the rarest fishes in the world.
The find came as a shock to scientists because the cavefish's home, Bobcat Cave, has been extensively studied in recent decades. The subterranean system is part of U.S. Army site Redstone Arsenal, which was historically a center for chemical weapons production. Bobcat Cave is regularly subject to water quality monitoring and part of efforts to save endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae), which also call the cave home.
English (US)