CNN —Thousands of fish species — about 2,500 of them named — call the Amazon River home, but scientists estimate nearly half of the marine creatures lurking in the massive stretch of water remain undiscovered. The marks inspired the fish’s name, Myloplus sauron, according to a study published Monday in the journal Neotropical Ichthyology. The confusion around pacusBesides Myloplus sauron, the researchers also discovered the species Myloplus aylan, which they described as having a slightly thicker black bar on its flank. The Myloplus genus falls within the Serrasalmidae fish family, which is made up of piranha and pacu species. Researchers hope to study Myloplus sauron and Myloplus aylan further to learn more about their evolution and relation to other species, Pereira said.

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Persons: Sauron, Tolkien’s “, ”, Victória Pereira, Pereira, sauron, Myloplus, Myloplus aylan, pacus, ’ ”, Matthew Kolmann, ” Kolmann, Kolmann, “ Organizations: CNN, University of Paulista, Amazon, University of Louisville Locations: São Paulo, Brazil, piranhas, Kentucky