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Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842
Northern cavefish
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drawing shows typical species in Amblyopsidae.
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drawing shows typical species in Amblyopsidae.
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) > Percopsiformes (Trout-perches, pirate perches and cavefishes) > Amblyopsidae (Cavefishes)
Etymology: Amblyopsis: Greek, amblys = darkness + Greek, ops = shape (Ref. 45335).
More on author: DeKay.
Etymology: Amblyopsis: Greek, amblys = darkness + Greek, ops = shape (Ref. 45335).
More on author: DeKay.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; non-migratory. Temperate; 39°N - 37°N
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
North America: Indiana and Kentucky, U.S.A.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 6.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193)
Max length : 11.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5723); common length : 6.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193)
Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 11; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 11; Vertebrae: 29 - 30. Pink-white. No eyes (vestigial eye tissues under skin). Extremely small pelvic fins (rarely absent). Large, broad head. Caudal fin with 4-6 rows of papillae; 11-13 branched caudal rays.
Blind and depigmented. Despite the lack of eyes it does respond to light and moves away from it (scotophilia). Inhabits subterranean water or caves which have consolidated mud-rock substrates in shoals and silt-sand substrates in pools but is more often found in caves with uniform silt-sand substrates (Ref. 34868). Has low reproduction rate and broods eggs in gill cavity for up to 4-5 months (Ref. 557; 34868; 27795). Can live for 2 years without food because of low metabolic rate (Ref. 5326). Top predator.
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Female incubates eggs in gill cavities (Ref. 7471).
Main reference
Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Romero, A. and L. Bennis, 1998. Threatened fishes of the world: Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842 (Amblyopsidae). Environ. Biol. Fishes 51(4):420. (Ref. 27795)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 04 August 2012
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Tools
E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree
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Special reports
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Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD50 = 0.6338 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.39 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 5.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.20; low reproductive rate (Refs. 34868; 27795).).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).