Batman Loach: Fish Believed to be Extinct for 50 Years Spotted in Turkey!

Experts participating on the Quest for the said endangered species initiative discovered a marine water Batman river loach that had not been sighted since 1974.

An aquatic fish thought to be endangered has been discovered in south-east Turkey after an almost 50-year disappearance.

After 5 Decades, Batman Loach Sighted in Turkey

The Batman River loach is the one to be discovered on their list of important highly desired endangered creatures, which further comprises the fat catfish known as Rhyzosomichthys totae in Colombia's elevated Lake Tota and the duckbilled bunting, Adrianichthys kruyti in Indonesia's Lake Poso.

"Freshwater fish are important to masses of individuals around the globe whom depends on them for a living," remarked Mike Baltzer, associate director of Shoal.

The extremely vulnerable Batman River loach, named Paraschistura chrysicristinae is a small yellow-and-brown patterned fish that reaches to 3.6cm in length and was formerly discovered in rivers and branches of the Batman and Ambar rivers, where it was last observed in 1974.

"I've spent investigating this location for 12 years, but this creature has been on my checklist," Dr. Cüneyt Kaya, senior lecturer at Recep Tayyip Erdoan University, stated.

Kaya, a fish taxonomist at the same university, and Dr Münevver Oral, a genetic and senior researcher, concentrated their hunt for the loach upstream of the Batman Dam, which was erected during 1986 and 1999.

"Since the creature had been gone, we really cannot know where to look so we didn't know where actual native habitat located," Kaya explained.

"Freshwater fishes are by far the most endangered category of animals on the globe," stated Baltzer.

"It's incredibly thrilling to discover a creature that was considered to be obsolete, such as the Batman River loach."

Efforts To Prevent Freshwater Fish Extinction

It demonstrates that if we concentrate our wits and resources, we may identify additional varieties and prevent fish mass extinction.

"Man-made contamination is a problem, therefore we need to raise local people's awareness," Oral remarked. Once some fish have been discovered, action must be done to conserve the population."

"More than one-third of freshwater species are on the threat of collapse."

Previously, experts employed wider traps, and I believe the fish passed through the nets, so we didn't discover it and there are around 18,000 different types of fish.

Additional effort is already required to assist safeguard the loach's existence, particularly investigating potential concerns such as colony fragmentation caused by the hydropower, drought, and contaminants.

"Because the creatures seem to be very tiny and cylindrical, the grid of the fishing gear had to be relatively small."

Freshwater fish suffer serious dangers, per the World's Forgotten Fishes study, which was released this year by WWF, Shoal, as well as other collaborators.

Investagators believes that they have not even comprehend the ecosystem of the creature, thus, further research is needed. As freshwater fish require more attention rivers and lakes must be protected.

Kaya and Oral used tight-weave nets to catch 14 loaches in the Sarim flow's narrow, stony, fast-flowing portions, and yet another nine in the Han torrent.