Goliath tiger fish, such as the one seen, are among the uniquely adapted "monster fish" of the Congo River, which winds through several African countries.
A recent, unprecedented river run on the Congo yielded a raft of new discoveries, including different species--some potentially new--in nearly every nook and cranny, scientists announced this week.
The river was also found to be possibly the world`s deepest, and its extraordinary changes in depths and currents help explain why it`s such a hotbed of fish diversity.
"What we`re seeing here is kind of evolution on steroids," said team leader Melanie Stiassny, a fish biologist at the American Museum of Natural History. Stiassny, a member of the National Geographic Society`s Conservation Trust, was among the marine and evolutionary biologists, hydrologists, and kayakers who conducted the exhaustive research in summer 2008.
