| Alabama cavefish | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Percopsiformes |
| Family: | Amblyopsidae |
| Genus: | Speoplatyrhinus |
| Species: | S. poulsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni Cooper & Kuehne, 1974 |
|
The Alabama cavefish,[2] Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni, is a critically endangered type of cavefish which lives in underground pools in Key Cave, located in northwestern Alabama, United States in the Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge. This is the only known location of the fish, and was discovered underneath a colony of Gray Bats in 1974 by Cooper and Kuehne.[3]
Only nine specimens of the cavefish have been observed and scientists estimate that less than 100 are left on the planet. It is believed that this fish is the rarest of American cavefish and one of the rarest of all freshwater fish. It is the most specialized cavefish known, and exists in a fragile ecosystem based on nutrient rich guano of the gray bat. Researchers have failed to find the fish living in any other location.
The Alabama cavefish is a typical troglobite.
Contents |
Its diet of copepods, isopods, amphipods, and other fish is supported by the nutrient-filled bat guano.[4] It can also survive off of other small organisms such as mites, spiders, beetles, millipedes, and other insects.[5] Its longevity ranges from 5 to 10 years, but it reproduces slower than all other cave dwellers. It is believed that they may reproduce like Northern Cavefish, by carrying its young inside its mouth to be incubated.[5] Since its reproductive cycle appears to be based on various environmental triggers, it does not reproduce every year. Its reproduction could be caused by seasonal flooding in the cave, which causes hormonal changes in the species.[4] Because its known range is limited to a single cave, the Alabama cavefish has an uncertain future, being threatened by changes in groundwater quality and level, changes in aquifer characteristics, diminished organic input. It also may compete with the syntopic southern cavefish, Typhlichthys subterraneus.
The Alabama cavefish is a light pink color that is semi-tranparent. It is the only species in its genus, and can be told apart from other cavefish due to its long flat snout.[4]