New Pacific eel is a living fossil, scientists say

A new type of eel that inhabits an undersea cave in the Pacific Ocean has been dubbed a living fossil because of its primitive features.

It is so distinct, scientists created a new taxonomic family to describe its relationship to other eels.

The US-Palauan-Japanese team say the eel’s features suggest it has a long and independent evolutionary history stretching back 200m years.

Details appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B — via redwolf.newsvine.com