Gitchak nakana Britz, Marak, Velentina, Lokeshwor, Raghavan, Pinion & Rüber, 2026
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Gitchak (lit. 'red') is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae (loaches). The genus contains a single species, Gitchak nakana, which is closely related to Lepidocephalichthys and Pangio. Gitchak is endemic to Northeast India, known only from a single dug-out well. As such, it exhibits several unique adaptations to a subterranean lifestyle. These include the lack of functional eyes, the absence of pigmentation, and the presence of well-developed barbels on the face for non-visual sensory perception. The body is translucent and scaleless. This allows its bright red liver to be easily seen externally, as well as large yellow eggs inside the body cavity when gravid. Gitchak is particularly unusual among cobitids in the absence of skull roof bones at the top of the skull, leaving the brain largely unprotected and covered only by skin.
Wikipedia contributors, Gitchak; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:36:49.159131+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gitchak nakana Britz, Marak, Velentina, Lokeshwor, Raghavan, Pinion & Rüber, 2026
- Name authority
- Britz, Marak, Velentina, Lokeshwor, Raghavan, Pinion & Rüber, 2026
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cobitidae
- Genus
- Gitchak
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCobitidae Swainson, 1838
- genusGitchak Britz, Marak, Velentina, Lokeshwor, Raghavan, Pinion & Rüber, 2026
- speciesGitchak nakana Britz, Marak, Velentina, Lokeshwor, Raghavan, Pinion & Rüber, 2026
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1883715 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:VCYW6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.