New Species of Batfish Discovered in Gulf of Mexico

A newly-discovered batfish species

The B.P oil spill of the Gulf of Mexico had tremendously damaged its marine life. However, during the cleanup and relocation of marine life, researchers made a fascinating discovery: two new species of batfish (a type of flatfish). Before that, there was only one known species of this fish. They were named for their way of crawling on the bottom which was similar to that of a bat. Another interesting fact was that all three species were previously considered as one species. But now, scientists have classified them as three distinctive species.  It's amazing how when a major environmental disaster affects a biome can wield new and unusual surprises. I certainly hope that like all other marine animals, these newly discovered species will be protected from the oil spill. So that marine biologists and researchers will get a chance to study these fish when the gulf is cleaned of the oil.

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