Clarias cavernicola
| Clarias cavernicola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A cave catfish underwater in a dark environment | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Division: | Teleostei |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Clariidae |
| Genus: | Clarias |
| Species: | C. cavernicola |
| Binomial name | |
| Clarias cavernicola Trewavas, 1936 | |
Clarias cavernicola,[2] the cave catfish,[3] is a critically endangered species of airbreathing catfish.[1] This cavefish is only known to live in the Aigamas cave, Otjozondjupa region, Namibia.[4][3] The golden cave catfish lack pigmentation and are up to 16.1 cm (6.3 in) in standard length.[3] They have very small eyes that are covered with skin, and are probably effectively blind.[3] They feed on detritus and invertebrates that fall into the lake in which they live. The population is estimated at 200–400 individuals.[5] Little is known about its reproduction, and attempts to breed it in captivity have failed.[6] The population is threatened by chance events and water extraction from the cave lake, which has resulted in a drop of the water level.[1]
It is the only known cavefish in mainland Southern Africa.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 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.
- ↑ "Clarias cavernicola". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
- 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Clarias cavernicola". FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ↑ "Cave catfish (Clarias cavernicola)". ARKive | Images of Life on Earth. Archived from the original on 2005-11-26.
- ↑ Bruton, M. N. (1995). "Threatened fishes of the world:Clarias cavernicola Trewavas, 1936 (Clariidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 43 (2): 162. Bibcode:1995EnvBF..43..162B. doi:10.1007/BF00002486. S2CID 44350023.
- ↑ "Clarias cavernicola". 2005-02-19. Archived from the original on 2005-02-19. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ↑ Aldemaro, R., ed. (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes, 21. ISBN 978-1-4020-0076-8.
External links
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