'Lord Sauron Piranha': Scientists name new Amazonian species after terrifying 'Lord of the Rings' villain

Scientists studying fish taxonomy in South America have taken the bold step of naming a newly discovered species after one of the most famous fictional villains, Lord Sauron, featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

It's unlikely that a sighting of this tiny fish would have been as terrifying as Frodo's vision of Sauron, which left him frozen in place in horror. But according to a new study published in the journal Neotropical Fish, its pattern reminded scientists of the great villain, which is why it was named.

The newly described fish species was discovered in the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon in Brazil. Photo credit: Getty Images

“As soon as our colleague suggested the name for this fish, we knew it was a perfect fit,” said lead author Dr Rupert Collins, senior curator of fishes at the Natural History Museum in London. “In particular, its red fins and orange spots on its body make it look just like the Eye of Sauron.”

The newly described fish species is closely related to the carnivorous piranha, as they belong to the same family. However, Myloplus sauron belongs to a group of fish better known as pacu. They mainly eat plants, and their teeth are more similar to human teeth than those of the famous piranha. The species was discovered when scientists were investigating the genetics of a widespread species called M. schomburgkii.

The new species is found exclusively in the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon, whose catchment area is larger than France and is home to more than 600 fish species, over 70 of which are endemic.

It is believed that 42 percent of the fish species that live in the Amazon River and its tributaries have yet to be identified by science.

The Xingu River accounts for about 5% of the water in the Amazon basin. Photo courtesy of Getty Images

The paper also describes another new species, M. aylan, named after the late Aylan Moraes Andrade, the young son of Marcelo Andrade and Karine Moraes, co-authors of the paper, who died at a young age last summer.

News of this new species (Miloplus Sauron) comes as fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and his Middle-earth are gearing up for the second season of The Lord of the Rings, scheduled for release at the end of August 2024.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/fish/myloplus-sauron The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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