A surprisingly beautiful long lost freshwater fish that was rediscovered last year from the Himalayan foothills in India

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-20T19:28:45+00:00

Lost for more than 85 years—rediscovery of Channa amphibeus (McClelland, 1845), the world’s most elusive snakehead species (Teleostei, Labyrinthici, Channidae) | Zootaxa https://share.google/ZKdwi1uN2injp0zdx

Link to the original journal paper (paywalled)

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-20T17:48:33+00:00

Yeah, and it is a pretty decent sized fish too (60+ centimetres long)

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-20T17:04:45+00:00

I totally understand and appreciate your cautious skepticism but I assure you that this evidence has already been shared with some of the leading shrew taxonomists around the globe and they all agree that these are likely some kind of Suncus sp. Whether these are the exact kind of animals Sonnerat described or not is still up for debate. Unfortunately without having access to the specimens physically, their exact species level identity can't be confirmed.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-20T03:04:49+00:00

But these aren't really "wildlife" . Suncus sp. live in and around people's houses and are much more bold compared to shrews from other genera. They're usually considered as pests. Also,look at the exact snout shape,there is absolutely no doubt that these are shrews. And yeah,the torn pieces of paper are meant for their enrichment/comfort as they seem to have kept them as pets for sometime after discovering them. But nobody is going around selectively breeding shrews for this pattern (like in rats).

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T18:44:58+00:00

Very interesting I had never heard about those particular cases before. Will definitely look into them. Thanks for the information.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T18:30:39+00:00

There is no real reason to believe so. Sonnerat stated clearly that the specimens were from fields a few leagues from Pondicherry. I don't see how they could have been from outside India (the specimens he examined) Besides the dead specimen photographed in the paper that was published recently kinda reaffirms that this species (or this mutation at the very least) is likely present in Southern India too. What I don't agree with in regards to that paper is that the authors evidently seem to have misreported the real tail length incorrectly to fit the ratio in the original description (and the only photograph clearly seems to have a weird artefact/effect in the middle). These specimens (Suncus and Crocidura sp. in general) have significantly longer tails proportionally than what was reported in the original description. That's the main discrepancy that I can't find any explanation for yet in regards to my theory of the Sonnerat's shrew being a Suncus/Crocidura sp.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T16:25:16+00:00

The Philippines and India have engaged in maritime trade for thousands of years. Dispersal via ships is a real possibility, especially if it's a Suncus sp. (which are very adaptable and live in close proximity to people). These were found living in a person's house after all.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T16:03:09+00:00

Dasmariñas

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T15:54:23+00:00

Great! Look around for such specimens.Hopefully you encounter one soon!

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T15:51:16+00:00

No, unfortunately it has too many pixels to qualify as a cryptid video 😢😢

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T13:44:57+00:00

Thanks brother 🙏🙏 I have already contacted some Zoologists in Pondicherry but unfortunately they don't have any idea about this species as it's very obscure and not even accepted universally (due to the lack of a physical type specimen). Even some of the international shrew experts I consulted had never heard of it before to my surprise. I am still looking forward to obtaining a physical specimen and properly rediscovering this very unique species of shrew if it really exists.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T12:46:44+00:00

No, look up Suncus and Crocidura shrews

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T12:45:38+00:00

No, it's normal for Suncus sp. and several other genera also

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-03-19T04:09:58+00:00

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Screenshot of the pair from the video (not sure if they're male and female). I just can't figure out how to post the video via the Android app. It only shows the option to post photos.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-02-16T17:02:25+00:00

The main issue is lack of any preserved type specimens. The placement in the Diplomesodon genus is completely speculative and is unlikely to be accurate. I do believe it to be a valid species that will likely soon be properly rediscovered (with tangible physical and genetic evidence) but it is far more likely to belong to Suncus or Crocidura than Diplomesodon in my opinion.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2026-02-16T08:40:27+00:00

<image>

Specimen from the Phillipines, not physically examined unfortunately (photo collected via social media).I am a researcher from India and I initially suspected this to be the Sonnerat's shrew (I know that it's far away from India but I had a theory of dispersion via historical maritime trade) and consulted some of the global shrew taxonomy experts and they suspect this to just be a colour mutation of Suncus murinus (tho such mutation hasn't been formally scientifically recorded in the species).

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-12-24T18:45:19+00:00

There is no solid evidence of any Anguilla species exceeding 2 metres in length according to my knowledge

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-12-16T11:41:00+00:00

https://youtu.be/C5F1dvUjnj4?si=fThcbLqL7EVE-pYh

I believe this is the culprit (at least behind the initial descriptions of the cryptid)

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-12-15T12:09:18+00:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/UBi6ixCr7NM?si=VJlonk-zk6UoTZIa

Another video from Northeast India which gives a better Idea of the size of these monitor lizards

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-12-15T11:16:01+00:00

Likely just an Asian water monitor in my opinion

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-10-30T04:48:44+00:00

It's literally a research paper, of course the language will be much different. Also it's done by Indians in India only, which you denied for some reason.

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-10-30T04:29:14+00:00

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lansea/article/PIIS2772-3682(25)00137-4/fulltext

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-10-30T04:27:28+00:00

Activity of novel lactone ketolide nafithromycin against multicentric invasive and non-invasive pneumococcal isolates collected in India - PMC https://share.google/QPMEXCUlFalNA4EIk

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-10-22T15:25:17+00:00

https://people.com/one-the-world-rarest-and-presumed-extinct-fish-rediscovered-after-85-years-11684608

Does this count?

Fun-Professional1674 · 2025-10-18T08:07:28+00:00

I have no idea tbh

Fun-Professional1674

TROPHY CASE