| Northern cavefish | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conservation status | |
 Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Percopsiformes |
| Family: | Amblyopsidae |
| Genus: | Amblyopsis |
| Species: | A. spelaea |
| Binomial name | |
| Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842 | |
The northern cavefish or northern blindfish (Amblyopsis spelaea) is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as near threatened.
The life cycle of northern cavefish includes a protolarval stage. In this stage, eggs and those that have recently hatched into protolarvae are kept by the mother internally in a gill chamber. Juveniles become free swimming and can leave. The northern cavefish lives to a maximum age of at least ten years and reaches sexual maturity at approximately six years of age.
During a 2013 study of Amblyopsis spelaea, scientists found that the species was divided into two distinct evolutionary lineages: one north of the Ohio River, in Indiana, and one south of the river, in Kentucky. The southern population retained the name A. spelaea and the northern was re-designated Amblyopsis hoosieri in a 2014 paper published in the journal ZooKeys. Neither species is found north of the White River, flowing east to west south of Bedford, Indiana.
The northern cavefish was under consideration for listing under the Endangered Species Act, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found in 2023 that despite the loss of two metapopulations of A. spelaea, listing was not warranted, as the four metapopulations that still exist had sufficient redundancy of subpopulations to mitigate threats. The metapopulations are divided among two units that are separated by the Rough Creek Fault Zone. Threats to the species include habitat degradation, especially by groundwater contamination from encroaching agricultural operations, cities and industry, forest loss and surface water impoundment.Behavior The Northern Cave Fish hunts in a special way since it can't see. It has tiny sensing spots all over its body that can feel when food is swimming nearby, even in complete darkness. These fish can tell there's food around just by feeling the movements in the water, even when the food is several finger-lengths away.
References
- Poulson, T. L. "Adaptations of cave fishes with some comparisons to deep-sea fishes". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 62 (2001): 345–364.
- ^ NatureServe (2014). "Amblyopsis spelaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T1080A19034608. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T1080A19034608.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Species Assessment Team, Ecological Services Program (29 November 2023). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Seven Species Not Warranted for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species". Federal Register. 88 (228): 83368–83377. 88 FR 83368
- Chakrabarty, Prosanta; Prejean, Jacques A.; Niemiller, Matthew L. (May 29, 2014). "The Hoosier cavefish, a new and endangered species (Amblyopsidae, Amblyopsis) from the caves of southern Indiana". ZooKeys (412). Pensoft: 41–57. Bibcode:2014ZooK..412...41C. doi:10.3897/zookeys.412.7245. PMC 4042695. PMID 24899861.
- Howard, Brian Clark (May 30, 2014). "Blind Hoosier Cavefish: Freshwater Species of the Week". National Geographic. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Amblyopsis spelaea". FishBase. October 2005 version.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Amblyopsis spelaea | |
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