09-09-2020, 09:53 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: ABQ, New Mexico
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A surprising number of hillstream loaches—a family of Asian fish—are capable of walking on land using all four limbs, according to a new study. It’s a discovery that could explain how some of the earliest animals managed to stroll on solid ground.
South Asian hillstream loaches are a family of small fish that can often be found clinging to rocks in fast-moving waters. New research published in the Journal of Morphology suggests at least 11 species of hillstream loaches can also walk on land, as evidenced by their peculiar anatomies. At least one species, a blind cavefish known as Cryptotora thamicola, has actually been caught in the act, but the new research suggests other hillstream loaches can do it as well.
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