On July 25, Mr. Pham Hong Thai - Director of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Quang Tri province) said that conservation experts have just discovered a cave mu fish, suspected to be an endemic species of the underground river ecosystem located between the Phong Nha - Ke Bang heritage areas (Vietnam) and Hin Nam No (Laos).
This fish has no eyes, living completely in the darkness of deep caves, where light cannot penetrate the layer of limestone for hundreds of millions of years. Temporarily, this species was named Cave blind fish.
Instead of sight, they orient in a beard system and are sensitive to water pressure and movement, typical of evolutionary creatures in isolated, low-light environments.
In Vietnam, mu fish are recorded in Son Doong Cave, Va Cave and Hung Thong Cave. On the Lao side, similar traces also appeared in Xe Bang Fai cave.
Scientists are decoding DNA to determine whether these are the same species or two separate branches of civilization. If it is a single species, this will be biological evidence to confirm the close connection between the two adjacent heritages and is an important scientific basis for cross-border conservation.
