When scientists went into an underground river in the Philippines, they found a ghostly creature living in the shadows

[Starmix]

According to the report, researchers have found a new species of moray eel living in the murky river mouths of the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, southern Java, and Fiji. The species – described in the journal Zookeys and has been named after Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, due to its striking, dark coloring and its preference for shadowy places

The report said that around 230 species of moray eels are known worldwide. The majority of these are marine dwellers, with just one species confirmed to live primarily in freshwater such are the slender giant moray (Strophidon sathete), which can tolerate brackish conditions and occasionally venture into river mouths.

However, morays specifically adapted to estuarine environments are exceedingly rare, making Hades’ snake moray an intriguing discovery. The find came about by chance when researchers from National Sun Yat-Sen University were exploring the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River in the Philippines.

The report added that they found that it prefers to burrow tail-first, a rare trait among moray eels. It is also highly sensitive to light, consistently seeking out shelter when exposed to brightness. Its small eyes and reduced number of head sensory pores suggest that it has adapted to navigate and hunt in low-light, sediment-heavy environments, relying more on chemoreception (responding to chemical stimuli, primarily using taste and smell) than vision to detect prey or evade predators.











Source: BBC Wildlife

 

[magnus2022]

I believe that the marine bodies have millions of undefined organisms. Scientists have not explore the water bodies and much still need to be done. I believe that marine hold a lot of treasures for us. Let's keep exploring!

 

[Starmix]

God gave us sources of food and medicine through herbs. All that is in the sea, and river are good sources of food humans did not take full action for sustenance and even business. The images here look so eerie, the eyes of the eels are huge and I have not seen the eyes of the eels in reality.

 

[eLdavis]

There are still thousands, if not millions of creatures under the sea we are yet to discover, especially those deep part of the ocean humans have not been able to explore.

 

[Xtynehappy]

This must be a big fish. They ought to be living down there under waters

 

[Starmix]

This must be a big fish. They ought to be living down there under waters

It's an eel, that stunned then. It's specie is different from the usual eel that we see. That might be the appearance of an eel in the river.

 

[Augusta]

Huh! this sounds really weird already. They are a lot of entities living in hidden areas all the time

 

[Starmix]

Huh! this sounds really weird already. They are a lot of entities living in hidden areas all the time

Yeah weird, look at the eel, so cutie with eyes wide open and I saw an eel. I cannot find its eyes but in this image it has a wide eye, so weird yet awesome.

 

[Augusta]

A lot of times I don't want to come across these things they can be really scary. We just have to only hear about them

 

[Starmix]

That eel in the image also looks like a snake hehe. There's no wonder why the scientists described them as somewhat scary and weird.