Clarias cavernicola
| Golden Cave catfish | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Clariidae |
| Genus: | Clarias |
| Species: | C. cavernicola |
| Binomial name | |
| Clarias cavernicola Trewavas, 1936 | |
The golden cave catfish (Clarias cavernicola) is a critically endangered species of airbreathing catfish. They are only known to live in the Aigamas cave, Otjozondjupa region, Namibia. They appear similar to white eels, up to a length of 16.1 cm (6.3 inches) SL. They have very small eyes, and are probably effectively blind. They feed on detritus that falls into the lake in which they live. The population is estimated at 150 or 200–400[1] individuals. Little is known about its reproduction, and attempts to breed it in captivity have failed. The population is threatened by chance events and aquifer depletion that threatens to drain the lake.
References
- ↑ Bruton, M. N. (1995). "Threatened fishes of the world:Clarias cavernicola Trewavas, 1936 (Clariidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes 43 (2): 162–162. doi:10.1007/BF00002486.
- Skelton (1996). Clarias cavernicola. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR B1+2c, E v2.3)
- "Clarias cavernicola". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 January 2006.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Clarias cavernicola" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- Image at the National Museum of Namibia
- at ARKive – Images of Life on Earth