Ritesh Gandhi: added initial entry w/ refs

2025-05-27T01:02:19Z

added initial entry w/ refs

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{{Short description|Genus of fishes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Aenigmachanna gollum.jpg
| image_caption = ''[[Aenigmachanna gollum]]''
| parent_authority = Britz, Dahanukar, Anoop, Philip, Clark, Raghavan & Rüber, 2020
| display_parents = 4
| taxon = Aenigmachanna
| authority = [[Ralf Britz|Britz]], [[V. K. Anoop|Anoop]], [[Neelesh Dahanukar|Dahanukar]] and [[Rajeev Raghavan|Raghavan]], 2019
| type_species = ''Aenigmachanna gollum''
| type_species_authority = Britz, Anoop, Dahanukar & Raghavan, 2019
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 2, see text.
}}

'''''Aenigmachanna''''' is a [[genus]] of [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fish]] in the [[Order (biology)|order]] [[Anabantiformes|Ananbantiformes]]. It is the only genus in the family '''Aenigmachannidae''', or '''dragon snakeheads'''. It contains two species, both of which are largely restricted to subterranean habitats in southwestern [[India]], namely in the [[Western Ghats]] foothills in the state of [[Kerala]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Britz|first1=Ralf|last2=Dahanukar|first2=Neelesh|last3=Anoop|first3=V. K.|last4=Philip|first4=Siby|last5=Clark|first5=Brett|last6=Raghavan|first6=Rajeev|last7=Rüber|first7=Lukas|date=2020-09-30|title=Aenigmachannidae, a new family of snakehead fishes (Teleostei: Channoidei) from subterranean waters of South India|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=16081|doi=10.1038/s41598-020-73129-6|pmid=32999397 | pmc=7527459|issn=2045-2322|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020NatSR..1016081B }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Main|first=Douglas|date=October 19, 2020|title=Dragon snakeheads—strange new underground fish—discovered in India|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/10/new-fish-family-dragon-snakeheads-found-india/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020074429/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/10/new-fish-family-dragon-snakeheads-found-india/ |archive-date=20 October 2020 |access-date=|website=[[National Geographic]]}}</ref>

Both of the species in this genus display a unique array of traits that distinguish them from their closest living relatives, the true [[Snakehead (fish)|snakeheads]] in the family [[Snakehead (fish)|Channidae]]. These include a much longer and more slender body, numerous scales, a very long [[anal fin]], and a lack of ability to maintain [[buoyancy]]. Molecular analyses indicate that they split off from Channidae around 34 or 109 [[Million years ago|MYA]]. This may indicate that Aenigmachannidae is a uniquely [[Gondwana]]n lineage, and if the higher end of estimations is correct, it may have survived the breakup of the Gondwanan supercontinent around 120 MYA.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":02" />

They are unique among [[cavefish]] for being one of the few cave-dwelling members of the large clade [[Percomorpha]]. Despite their habitat, they physically display little [[troglomorphism]] aside from a slightly reduced pigmentation, indicating that they either colonized the caves relatively recently or that they are [[Trogloxene|subtroglophiles]] that mostly live underground, but depend on aboveground habitats for some functions. Due to their restricted habitat and unique nature, both are considered [[Relict (biology)|relict species]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Raghavan|first1=Rajeev|last2=Dahanukar|first2=Neelesh|last3=Anoop|first3=V. K.|last4=Britz|first4=Ralf|date=2019-05-09|title=The subterranean Aenigmachanna gollum, a new genus and species of snakehead (Teleostei: Channidae) from Kerala, South India|url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4603.2.10|journal=Zootaxa|language=en|volume=4603|issue=2|pages=377–388|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4603.2.10|pmid=31717234|s2cid=164781147 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2019/may/new-species-of-subterranean-fish-named-after-the-lord-of-the-rings-character.html|title=New species of subterranean fish named after The Lord of the Rings character|website=www.nhm.ac.uk|language=en|access-date=2019-05-09}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Ravi|first1=Charan|last2=Basheer|first2=V. S.|last3=Kumar|first3=Rahul G.|date=2019-07-17|title=Aenigmachanna mahabali, a new species of troglophilic snakehead (Pisces: Channidae) from Kerala, India|url=https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4638.3.6|journal=Zootaxa|language=en|volume=4638|issue=3|pages=410–418|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4638.3.6|pmid=31712470|s2cid=203899040 |issn=1175-5334|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==

=== Species ===

* ''[[Aenigmachanna gollum]]'' <small>[[Ralf Britz|Britz]], [[V. K. Anoop|Anoop]], [[Neelesh Dahanukar|Dahanukar]] and [[Rajeev Raghavan|Raghavan]], 2019</small> (Gollum snakehead)
* ''[[Aenigmachanna mahabali]]'' <small>[[Rahul G. Kumar|Kumar]], [[V.S. Basheer|Basheer]], and [[Charan Ravi|Ravi]], 2019</small> (Mahabali snakehead)

The genus was initially described in early 2019 to serve as a monotypic genus for ''A. gollum'', the first species to be described in the genus. Later in the year, ''A. mahabali'' was described as a distinct species, indicating that there were indeed multiple species in the genus.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q64481860}}

[[Category:Aenigmachanna| ]]
[[Category:Cave fish]]
[[Category:Fauna of Kerala]]
[[Category:Freshwater fish of India]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of India]]
[[Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Ralf Britz]]
[[Category:Taxa named by V.K. Anoop]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Neelesh Dahanukar]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Rajeev Raghavan]]

Aenigmachanna - Revision history

Ritesh Gandhi: added initial entry w/ refs