# G. Rajesh Kumar
Pathanamthitta: Without public cooperation, such a fish would have gone underground. Scientists have named the new fish ‘public’ because humans have paved the way for the outside world. It will henceforth be known in the world of zoology as a sign of Kerala’s scientific awareness. The fish was found on December 1, 2020, from Pradeep Thambi’s well at Mallapally Charivupurayam. The researchers gave it the scientific name Horaglanis populi. The word populi means people in Latin.
The discovery was led to the curiosity of the small creature that came from the well to the tank through the motor and through the pipe. The information reached the scientists of the University of Fisheries (Kufos) when the pictures were shared on social media.
Dr. Rajeev Raghavan of Kufos, Ramya L. Sundar, Shiv Nadar and Dr. Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, New Delhi. Dr. Nilesh Dahanukar, Senkenberg Natural History Museum, Germany. Ralph Britz, C.P. Collaborative research by Arjun et al confirmed that this is a new subterranean fish. Their research results were published yesterday in the international journal Vertebrate Zoology.
Out of the 18 ground fish species discovered so far in the country, 12 are from Kerala. Most of them are found in the springs in the chengal areas from Thrissur to Madhya Thiruvithamkur. Horaglanis krishnai was first discovered in India in 1948 from Kottayam. A sibling species has now been discovered.
No eyes, transparent skin
The newly discovered populi is also an eyeless species. For this reason they are called Kurudanmuzhi. 31 mm long. Since the skin is transparent, the inside of the body can be seen. Hand feathers are very short. They have sensitive whiskers.