A group that was settled in various parts of Sri Lanka, The Balangoda Man, dates back to the Quaternary period. Archaeologists found their remains in Fe Hien Cave dating back some 38,000 years. Their skull was thick and their jaw was heavy, quite similar to a Neanderthal. In fact, they were around 67 inches tall and had a great set of teeth. From the gathered pieces of evidence, experts discovered that the Balangoda Man group was into some advanced activities.

Life of the Balangoda Man

Based on the evidence, archaeologists estimate that this group was settled in the caves near Balangoda town. During excavations, they found axes made out of elephant legs and daggers created with sambar antlers. In addition to that, there was proof of their hunting skills. Archaeologists also encountered pieces of evidence showing the regular use of stone tools to create bonfires. The tools they found date back to some 27,000 years from now. This eventually means that it might be the first time such advanced items were used by hominins.

Beliefs Based on Findings

Although most of the proof indicates how modernized the Balangoda men were, experts do have some strong and contradictory beliefs. According to them, there’s no doubt that this group had great hunting skills but they never learned how to cultivate actual crops. Even if they used to create fire very often, it was never to cook meat – they preferred to eat it raw.

Balangoda Man and the Veddas

The Balangoda man and the Veddas in Sri Lanka are linked with one another. Professionals found carbon remains of this group that were 6,500 years old, signifying that the hominin tribe kept spreading and occupying more areas. Looking at the similarity in the appearance between the Balangoda man and the Veddas, it’s evident that there’s some genetic link. The fact that Veddas also began from the caves and then moved to the local communities makes the claim stronger.

A team of researchers has made a stunning discovery in underground waters in southern India. They found living members of a family of eel-like fish, which is named dragon snakeheads. These primitive fish are considered a “living fossil” because they are believed to have diverged from their relatives some hundred million years ago.

The Dragon Snakehead Joins a New Family of Fish

In taxonomy, the family is the category placed above genus and species, and discovering a new one is not very common. Usually, taxonomic families are large and diverse, but the new fish family includes only two species. The first one is named the Gollum snakehead, after the famous Lord of the Rings character, and the dragon snakehead is now the second member of this family.

The study leader Ralf Britz shared that he believes this might be the most exciting discovery in the fish world for the last decade. These long-bodied fish usually dwell in aquifers of porous rock, which explains why they are rarely seen. They would only come to the surface after heavy-rain floods.

The fish live in the Western Ghats of southern India, which is known as a biodiversity hot spot. In the aquifers there, scientists have discovered ten new species of subterranean fish. However, the water there is used for around six million wells, and this lowers the water table, putting some of the obscure species that call it home in peril.

Enigmatic Fish Species

Back in 2018, researcher and study co-author Rajeev Raghavan saw a photo of an odd fish that was retrieved from a backyard well. He and Britz had no idea what the species, genus, and family of the fish were and described it as a new species and genus – Aenigmachanna Gollum or the Gollum snakehead. During a similar and more recent discovery, Britz and his colleagues thought they found the same fish in another well. After performing further research on their genetics and anatomy, they found they belong in a whole new family.

The new dragon snakeheads exhibit a series of primitive characteristics, and these unique traits include fewer vertebrae with ribs, a shortened swim bladder, and a lack of a suprabranchial organ. These features show that the dragon snakeheads are not as specialized as regular snakeheads and can really be called “living fossils.” Genetic analysis showed that dragon snakeheads diverged from their nearest relatives over 120 million years ago when Africa and India were still the same landmass.