Eyeless & colorless ‘demon’ found at heavily-monitored army base is so weird it’s named after Stranger Things monster

A NEW species of colorless fish without eyes has been discovered at a US army base after going undetected for three decades. Scientists said the fish was “hiding in plain sight” inside a heavily-studied cave underneath an army base in Alabama. A new species of blind fish was found in a cave underneath at Redstone Arsenal, a US Army base in Huntsville, Alabama Credit: Getty The newly found Demon Cavefish, known formally as Demogorgonichthys arcanus Credit: The University of Alabama in Huntsville Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville uncovered a new species of blind cavefish, which has since reshaped scientists’ understanding of evolution. The newly named Demon Cavefish, known formally as Demogorgonichthys arcanus, is eyeless, colorless and has “faintly electric blue in life.” Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Demogorgonichthys references the “Demogorgon,” a mythical “Demon lord” creature in the game Dungeons & Dragons and the popular Netflix show Stranger Things, a monster that entered the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana from a parallel dimeson. The other part of the genus name, arcanus, means “hidden” or “secret.” The discovery was made in Bobcat Cave, found below the US Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, which the study’s lead author said was “one of the last places we’d have bet on it.” “This a site that has been monitored at least quarterly for more than 30 years,” said Dr. Matthew Niemiller. “Finding an entirely unknown, new genus of freshwater fish in eastern North America today is a little like finding a new kind of big cat,” Niemiller said. “The group is so well known, we thought the big surprises were behind us. Most read in The Sun “To have one turn up in a cave we’ve watched for three decades is a real reminder to stay curious. It was genuinely surprising.” The Demon Cavefish was able to escape being detected by researchers for so long because it closely resembles another blind species, the Southern Cavefish, which is known to live in the cave. Through anatomical studies, researchers found that this new fish is “entirely different” from the Southern Cavefish. While the two fish live in the same pools inside Bobcat Cave, they are not relatives. The Demon Cavefish was found inside the Bobcat Cave Credit: The University of Alabama in Huntsville The Demon Cavefish (bottom) was found in the same pools as another blind fish, the Southern Cavefish (top) Credit: The University of Alabama in Huntsville “This is the part I find most remarkable,” Niemiller said. “Each found its own separate way into the underground world and lost its eyes and pigment independently, millions of years apart. “It’s a vivid case of convergent evolution. The cave environment sculpts very similar-looking animals, i.e., blind, pale, with heightened non-visual senses, out of completely distinct lineages. “At the same time, it shows that caves can preserve deep evolutionary independence, keeping two lineages genetically worlds apart even as they live side by side.” The discovery also points to the likelihood of other new creatures waiting to be discovered under North Alabama. “North Alabama sits atop one of the richest cave landscapes in the country, and the life in its groundwater is remarkable and still incompletely cataloged,” Niemiller said. The researcher said that since the Demon Cavefish is currently only known to be from a single cave, it makes it vulnerable. “The central challenge is that the threats come from outside the cave,” Niemiller explained, referencing threats like changing water conditions, sediment and contaminants. Comment now