It pays to be curious as is evident in the case of Ishaan Abraham Pichamuthu who discovered a new species of freshwater jellyfish thriving in the depths of Kodaikanal lake.

All that 9-year-old Ishaan Abraham Pichamuthu was looking forward to in his Kodikanal trip was a fun-filled boat ride on the cold lake, but never had he imagined that he would stumble upon a new species of jellyfish.

His finding will be included in the Animal Discoveries records brought out by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) this year.
Ishaan, a class IV student of Ida Scudder School in Vellore has always been fascinated by marine creatures. He said that he was curious about insects and fishes and loved to read about them and collect specimens.

While in Kodaikanal, Ishaan spotted the rare jellyfish which his father said is unusual as it was rare to find them in freshwater. They decided to collect some of the 1cm wide creatures and brought them home.

Ishaan’s father Kishore Pichamuthu who works in Christian Medical College said that they couldn’t find any literature that matched this particular species.

They sent the specimens to the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management at Anna University in Chennai and the Christian Medical College, Vellore where they were studied for more than six months.

K Venkataraman, former director of the Zoological Survey of India confirmed that the jellyfish which Ishaan discovered was the first of its kind discovered in India.