A rare fish that had not been seen by scientists for over 50 years has been rediscovered in Auckland, New Zealand.
The threatened Black mudfish, Neochanna diversus, is listed on the current IUCN Redlist for fishes, but hasn't been seen since shortly after the species was originally described in 1949.
However, a recent survey of the Te Henga and Tomarata wetlands revealed a population of Neochanna diversus alive and well.
Grant Barnes, Project Leader for Auckland Regional Council's State of Environment monitoring programme says that the new discovery of Neochanna says a lot about the health of the ecosystem.
He told the news website Scoop: "Freshwater fish are sensitive to a wide range of environmental impacts such as habitat loss, pollution and sedimentation."
Neochanna diversus is a galaxiid, and a member of the Osmeriformes order. It gets its common name from its ability to spend part of the year in a state of aestivation when its pool dries up.