Lost Species Found: Batman River Loach Unseen For Nearly 50 Years Rediscovered In Turkey

Turkish scientists rediscovered a critically endangered fish almost 50 years since it was last seen. This marks the first of the "top 10 most wanted lost fishes" to be discovered.

The Batman River loach, or the Diyarbakir, is a species of dwarf loach in the Batman River in Turkey with a standard length of just 36mm. Last seen in 1974, the reason for its disappearance is "unknown," but the construction of Batman Dam from 1986 to 1999 is believed to have impacted the species negatively.

According to Re:wild, an organization that works to "protect and restore" biodiversity, there have been previous expeditions to search for the Batman River loach in the years since it was last seen, but none of them proved to be successful.

But upon learning that the species was included in the top 10 most wanted lost fishes list launched in June, Cüynet Kaya and Münevver Oral of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan University analyzed the places where the species may survive and started the search, Re:wild noted in a statement. Soon enough, the scientists successfully rediscovered the species, finding 14 fish in the Sarim Stream and nine more in the Han Stream.

"As a freshwater fish taxonomist, I thought that I should do my best for this project, and fortunately our efforts resulted in finding the first lost endemic and critically endangered Batman River loach," Kaya said in the Re:wild statement.

In the statement from Shoal, which launched the lost fishes list with Re:wild, Kaya noted that the species has "managed to survive" in the environment despite the threats it has been facing, noting that it is now imperative to determine the species' population density and distribution.

"These data will play a key role in the correct determination of the conservation status of the species," Kaya said, as per Shoal. "We took the first step by finding this lost species – now is the time to act to protect it."

According to Kaya, some of the threats the species is still facing possibly include pollution, invasive species and drought.

"There are so many lost and threatened fish and we are so happy that this little loach has been found, and hopefully we can now secure its future," Mike Baltzer, Shoal's executive director, said. "This is the first species of Lost Fishes that has been rediscovered – hopefully the first of many."

More Lost Fishes To Be Found

There are more than 300 fish species that are currently lost to science and feared extinct. The discovery of the Batman River loach marks the first among the top 10 most wanted lost fishes to be found.

The list also includes the Annamite barb, which is only officially known from three individuals and hasn't been seen in 52 years, the Syr Darya Shovelnose Sturgeon, which has been lost for about 60 years, and the Titicaca Orestias, which has been lost for 69 years.

Indonesia's Duck-billed Buntingi also hasn't been seen in 37 years while the fat catfish was last seen in Colombia in 1957.

"In order to save these species, we first need to find them," Re:wild noted.