• Animals

    Three New Species Found in Freshwater Caves

    One of the most remarkable and mysterious places in the world can be found on the Kahurangi National Park in the northwest section of New Zealand’s South Island. A series of underground river cave systems delivers the Pearse River up to a dramatic entrance from under a mountain cliff in the Tasman Region. Newly discovered amphipod. Photo by Nelson Boustead/NIWA. The Mystery of the Pearce River’s Beginnings The mystery arises from the unknown source of the river, the deepness of the cold water cave systems, and the challenge of diving deep against strong underground river currents to find the answers. Using dry tracers, scientists have so far been unsuccessful in…