Clarias cavernicola

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Cave catfish
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Clariidae
Genus: Clarias
Species:
C. cavernicola
Binomial name
Clarias cavernicola
Trewavas, 1936

The cave catfish [2] (Clarias cavernicola) [3] is a critically endangered species of airbreathing catfish. [4] This cavefish is only known to live in the Aigamas cave, Otjozondjupa region, Namibia. [5] [6] It has also been reported from the nearby Dragon's Breath Cave. [7] The golden cave catfish lack pigmentation and are up to 16.1 cm (6.3 inches) in standard length. [6] They have very small eyes that are covered with skin, and are probably effectively blind. [6] They feed on detritus and invertebrates that fall into the lake in which they live. The population is estimated at 200–400 individuals. [8] Little is known about its reproduction, and attempts to breed it in captivity have failed. [9] The population is threatened by chance events and water extraction from the cave lake, which has resulted in a drop of the water level. [4]

Contents

It is the only known cavefish in mainland Southern Africa. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berg River redfin</span> Species of fish

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References

  1. Bills, R. (2007). "Clarias cavernicola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63363A12662977. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63363A12662977.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. https://fishbase.mnhn.fr/summary/Clarias-cavernicola.html
  3. "Clarias cavernicola". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved 24 January 2006.
  4. 1 2 Bills, R. (2007). "Clarias cavernicola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2007: e.T63363A12662977. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63363A12662977.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c, E v2.3)
  5. Cave catfish (Clarias cavernicola) at ARKive Archived 2005-11-26 at the Wayback Machine . Images of Life on Earth
  6. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2011). "Clarias cavernicola" in FishBase . December 2011 version.
  7. Proudlove, G.H. (2018–2019). "Clarias cavernicola". cavefishes.org.uk. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. Bruton, M. N. (1995). "Threatened fishes of the world:Clarias cavernicola Trewavas, 1936 (Clariidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 43 (2): 162. doi:10.1007/BF00002486. S2CID   44350023.
  9. "Clarias cavernicola". 2005-02-19. Archived from the original on 2005-02-19. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  10. Aldemaro, R., editor (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes. ISBN   978-1402000768