Scientists capture rare video of bumblebee catfish climbing waterfalls in Brazil

In November 2024, members of Brazil’s environmental military police and scientists observed a “massive aggregation” of small catfish making their way up waterfalls in Brazil. These first-of-their-kind observations of the rare bumblebee catfish likely migrating upstream to spawn were published in a recent paper. The researchers’ video footage shows thousands of bumblebee catfish (Rhyacoglanis paranensis), a small, colorful fish with blotches on its body and fins, aggregating at small pools at the base of waterfalls on the Aquidauana River in Mato Grosso do Sul state, then climbing up vertical rock faces and inching their way up. In more horizontal parts of the waterfall, the aggregations were so huge that individuals were seen climbing over each other. Rhyacoglanis species are considered ra