Researchers Discover New Piranha-Like Fish With Human Teeth

The orange coloring and distinctive black line down the center of the creature's body are reminiscent of the Eye of Sauron, the fearsome Lord of the Rings villain.

Machado et al. / Neotropical Ichthyology 2024 Myloplus sauron, the new species of fish found in the Amazon River.

Researchers studying fish in the Amazon River recently discovered a new species — and it carries an oddly familiar marking. Scientists dubbed the species Myloplus sauron after the Eye of Sauron, the villain from the Lord of the Rings series, because of the black line on the fish’s body that looks like Sauron’s fiery pupil.

M. sauron is a type of pacu, which are closely related to piranhas. However, unlike their cousins, pacu have flat, human-like teeth that they use to eat the plants that primarily make up their diet.

This discovery has reminded researchers just how much is still unknown about the Amazon’s wildlife.

Scientists Accidentally Discover Myloplus Sauron

In 1841, researchers discovered Myloplus schomburgkii, a species of fish related to piranhas. Nearly 200 years later, scientists conducting genetic analyses on a population of M. schomburgkii in the Amazon River discovered that the fish they were looking at actually weren’t all from the same species. In fact, they belonged to three nearly identical species: Myloplus schomburgkii, Myloplus sauron, and Myloplus aylan.

New Line CinemaThe Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings series.

The researchers noticed small differences between the three types of fish. They had varying numbers of vertebrae and dorsal fin rays, and the female specimens’ anal fins were shaped differently.

A new study published in Neotropical Ichthyology describes these distinctions.

So, how did the researchers decide on the name of M. sauron?

The Fish Named After The Lord Of The Rings Villain

One of the study’s co-authors, Rupert Collins, is the senior curator of fishes at the Natural History Museum in London. In a statement from the museum, Collins noted of M. sauron, “Its pattern looks a lot like the Eye of Sauron, especially with the orange patches on its body. As soon as one of my colleagues came up with the name for this fish, we knew it was perfect for it.”

M. sauron is part of the Serrasalmidae family alongside piranhas. Although these fish have a reputation for being vicious killers, M. sauron feast mainly on plants. Like other pacu, they have human-like teeth that allow them to grind up vegetation.

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife ConservationAn example of a pacu with human-like teeth.

M. sauron are only found in the Xingu River Basin, a Brazilian tributary of the Amazon containing more than 600 species of fish.

Now, researchers are trying to determine how closely related M. sauron is to M. schomburgkii and M. aylan. It is possible that they share a common ancestor, but researchers also believe that they may have simply evolved to look the same.

“There wasn’t enough evidence to suggest whether these three species all descend from one common ancestor, or whether they evolved convergently,” Collins said. “For now, we’ve left them in the Myloplus genus, but they might be moved in the future.”

Scientists estimate that there may still be thousands of fish species yet to be identified in the Amazon River, but the discovery of M. sauron brings us one step closer to uncovering the mysteries of its depths.

After reading about the discovery of Myloplus sauron, dive into the story of the Megatherium, the massive prehistoric sloth that once roamed the Amazon. Then, learn about the candiru, the Amazonian fish that allegedly targets penises.

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