The fat catfish was first formally described in 1942 by ichtyologist Cecil Miles. The natives of the area, the Muisca, avoided Lake Tota because they feared a monster that was rumored to live under the water with a whale-like body and a bull’s head. Once Europeans began moving into the area, people would fish the waters of Lake Tota. The grease from the catfish was used by locals. It was reported that the fins of this catfish would ignite and the grease would be used to light torches. Although it was reported to smell like butter, it was not used as a food source by people. The extinction of the fat catfish is shrouded in mystery. Cecil Miles began a fish farm in the area and began releasing rainbow trout into Lake Tota. Miles claimed a 1942 earthquake may have been the culprit, but no evidence of a major earthquake from that time is known. Rainbow trout have caused the extinctions of many other fish species throughout the world, but they do not swim at the depth that the fat catfish was thought to dwell. The last report of a fat catfish was in 1957. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The fat catfish would probably not be a good candidate. Although there are at least 10 known specimens, all of them have been preserved in formaldehyde which ruins the DNA. The fat catfish is currently on Re:Wild’s 25 most wanted list for lost species. Because of its small size and living so far down in Lake Tota, scientists are hopeful it may still be alive. Because they have no complete DNA of the fat catfish to do enviornmental testing, they would need to find a catfish of similar size and shape. Since it is the only member of the Rhizosomichthys genus, there are no other fish that look quite like it. If the fat catfish was brought back to life, would it be able to survive in Columbia’s Lake Tota?