Cavefishes
Northern cavefish, Amblyopsis spelaea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Percopsiformes Family: Amblyopsidae
Genera
Amblyopsis Chologaster Forbesichthys Speoplatyrhinus Typhlichthys See text for species. Amblyopsis spelea (Northern Blindfish) is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Percopsiformes is a small order of ray-finned fish, comprising the trout-perch and its allies. ... For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ...

The cavefishes (commonly: blindfishes, swampfishes) are a family (Amblyopsidae) of fish found in caves and adapted to life in the dark, notably lacking eyes and pigmentation, as a result having a pale or whitish color. They are all found in the southern and eastern United States. In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico This article is about natural caves; for artificial caves used as dwellings, such as those in north China, see yaodong. ... A human eye. ...

Cavefishes are generally small, ranging up to 11 cm in length. Most lack pelvic fins, although Amblyopsis spelaea has small ones with up to six rays. Fish anatomy is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of water, which is much denser than air, holds a relatively small amount of dissolved oxygen, and absorbs light more than does air. ...

Cavefishes can only be found in caves that have streams running into them; a cave with no inlets (such as Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas) will not contain cavefishes. They are believed to have been evolved from their aboveground counterparts. Blanchard Springs Caverns is a cave system located in the Ozark National Forest in Stone County in northern Arkansas. ... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,732 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ...

Species

The family includes six species in five genera:

• Genus Amblyopsis
  • Ozark cavefish, Amblyopsis rosae (Eigenmann, 1898).
  • Northern cavefish, Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842.
• Genus Chologaster
  • Swampfish, Chologaster cornuta Agassiz, 1853.
• Genus Forbesichthys
  • Spring cavefish, Forbesichthys agassizii (Putnam, 1872).
• Genus Speoplatyrhinus
  • Alabama cavefish, Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni Cooper & Kuehne, 1974.
• Genus Typhlichthys
  • Southern cavefish, Typhlichthys subterraneus Girard, 1859.

Carl H. Eigenmann (March 9, 1863 - April 24, 1927) was an ichthyologist who, along with his wife Rosa Smith Eigenmann, described many of the fishes of North America and South America for the first time. ... Amblyopsis spelea (Northern Blindfish) is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. ... Amblyopsis spelea (Northern Blindfish) are found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. ... Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (May 28, 1807-December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American zoologist, glaciologist, and geologist, the husband of educator Elizabeth Cabot Cary Agassiz, and one of the first world-class American scientists. ... Charles Frédéric Girard (March 8, 1822 - January 29, 1895) was a French biologist specializing on ichthyology and herpetology. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Amblyopsidae

• "Amblyopsidae". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.