Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Paracanthopterygii
Series: Percopsaria
Ordo: Percopsiformes
Familia: Amblyopsidae
Genera: Amblyopsis - Chologaster - Forbesichthys - Speoplatyrhinus – Troglichthys – Typhlichthys
Name
Amblyopsidae Bonaparte, 1846
References
Poly, W. J. 2004. Family Amblyopsidae Bonaparte 1846 cavefishes. California Academy of Sciences. Annotated Checklists of Fishes No. 23. 5 pp. Online access
Nelson, J. S. 2006. Fishes of the World, fourth edition. John Wiley, Hoboken, 624 pp. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. ISBN 978-0-471-25031-9. Reference page.
Amblyopsidae – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Vernacular names
English: Cavefishes
The Amblyopsidae are a fish family commonly referred to as cavefish, blindfish, or swampfish. They are small freshwater fish found in the dark environments of caves (underground lakes, pools, rivers and streams), springs and swamps in the eastern half of the United States. Like other troglobites, most amblyopsids exhibit adaptations to these dark environments, including the lack of functional eyes and the absence of pigmentation. More than 200 species of cavefishes are known,[1][2] but only six of these are in the family Amblyopsidae.[3][4] One of these, Forbesichthys agassizii, spends time both underground and aboveground. A seventh species in this family, Chologaster cornuta, is not a cave-dweller but lives in aboveground swamps.[5]
Description
The spring cavefish (Forbesichthys agassizii) spends some time aboveground and its adaptions to an underground habitat are not as extreme as most species in the family
Amblyopsids are generally small, the northern cavefish (largest species in family) reaching up to 11 cm (4.3 in) in length.[6]
The amblyopsids are probably ancient in origin. Adaptations common to many cavefish include reduced susceptibility to light, pigment loss, or reduction in skin scales,[7] as well as development of chemoreceptors in the sensory organs of the body surface and the lateral line. Three species exhibit efficient metabolism during swimming, as compared with a group of non-cave fish, and many cavefish species exhibit slender bodies adapted to swimming in fast-flowing waters.[7]
The cave-dwellers typically lack pigment and are somewhat translucent.[3] They have a naked, moderately depressed head and an elongated body, covered with small cycloid irregular flakes, with tiny or absent pelvic fins. The anal opening is so far forward that it is in the throat region.
The premaxilla, a bone of the upper jaw, is segmented, and the vomer has no teeth. They have no ventral fins. The lateral line is incomplete, but well developed in some species. Its spine has between 27 and 35 vertebrae.
Externally, they resemble killifishes in many respects, although their internal anatomy more closely resembles the trout-perches, with which they are currently classified.[5]
Eyes
The name of the family, Amblyopsidae, refers to their eyes (compare amblyopia). Most in this family are either blind or can only detect the difference between light and darkness. The true cave-dwellers have only rudimentary eyes, like so many other fauna that live in the dark.[3]
Although some cave-dwellers have tiny, vestigial but functional eyes, others, such as the Amblyopsis and Typhlichthys have no eyes at all. Blindfish do, however, have rows of sensory papillae on their skin, which they use to help navigate.
Similar darkness-adaptive traits can be seen in many fish families where members live underground and is known as convergent evolution.[3][8]
Distribution
All members of this family are small and typical of the fresh waters of the eastern and southern regions of the United States. Some live deep in the swamps, and others in the lakes and streams or in caves, significantly the Kentucky cave system called the Mammoth caves.
Cavefish can only be found in caves that have streams running into them; a cave with no inlets does not contain cavefish.
Ecology
The Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) has a tiny range and is very rare
Although the cave habitat generally offers a poor food supply, the advantages of the environment include extremely stable conditions, few competitors, and few predators.[7]
Since the cave environment is dark, no plant life is performing photosynthesis, and food is mainly introduced from the outside world by other organisms. Limited food leads to low population density, which has been estimated for Amblyopsidae to be only about 0.005 to 0.150 animals per square meter.[7]
Cave habitats are vulnerable to changes in the environment such as water pollution and exotic species.[7] The Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni), which live only in the Key Cave in Alabama, is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, the highest risk class.[9]
Life history and behavior
Cavefish breed only once a year, occupying[clarification needed] about 10% of the population.[7] Members of the family Amblyopsidae lay eggs. Uniquely among fish, the genus Amblyopsis brood their eggs in the gill chambers (somewhat like mouthbrooders). Formerly it was incorrectly speculated that a similar brooding behavior existed in other members of this family, as well as the pirate perch (Aphredoderus sayanus).[10][11] Cavefish protect their eggs for the longest period of any fish.[7]
A rare feature of this family is the forward placement of its cloaca, under the head, anterior to the pelvic fins.[5] This placement allows the females to place their eggs more precisely, and is present also in other species of the Percopsiformes order, such as the Aphredoderidae. They feed on shrimp, gammarus, and arachnids that fall into the water, using vibrations and current changes to seek out their prey.
See also
Troglofauna
References
Proudlove, G.R. (2015). "Checklist of troglobitic subterranean fishes of the world to February 2015". cave-registry.org.uk. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
Riesch, R.; Tobler, M.; and Plath, M. (2015). Extremophile Fishes: Ecology, Evolution, and Physiology of Teleosts in Extreme Environments. ISBN 978-3319133614
Romero, A., editor (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes. ISBN 978-1402000768
Chakrabarty, P.; Prejean, J.A.; Niemiller, M.L. (2014). "The Hoosier cavefish, a new and endangered species (Amblyopsidae, Amblyopsis) from the caves of southern Indiana". ZooKeys (412): 41–57. doi:10.3897/zookeys.412.7245. PMC 4042695. PMID 24899861.
Cohen, Daniel M. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Amblyopsis in FishBase. May 2017 version.
Helfman, G.; Collette; Facey, D.; Bowen, BW (2009). The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-2494-2.
Rantin B., and M.E. Bichuette (2013). Phototactic behaviour of subterranean Copionodontinae Pinna, 1992 catfishes (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from Chapada Diamantina, central Bahia, northeastern Brazil. International Journal of Speleology 41(1): 57-63
NatureServe (2013). "Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T20467A19033986. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T20467A19033986.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
Armbruster, J.W.; M.L. Niemiller & P.B. Hart (2016). "Morphological Evolution of the Cave-, Spring-, and Swampfishes of the Amblyopsidae (Percopsiformes)". Copeia. 104 (3): 763–777. doi:10.1643/ci-15-339. S2CID 53608365.
Fletcher, D.E.; Dakin, E.E.; Porter, B.A.; Avise, J.C. (2004). "Spawning behavior and genetic parentage in the pirate perch (Aphredoderus sayanus), a fish with an enigmatic reproductive morphology". Copeia. 2004 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1643/ce-03-160r. S2CID 37827490.
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