All articles tagged with #cavefish
Scientists discovered a new eyeless, pigmentless cavefish—Demogorgonichthys arcanus—in Bobcat Cave beneath Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The eyeless fish represents a new freshwater genus that evolved independently from the nearby Southern Cavefish, and its finding in a long-monitored cave shows biodiversity can remain undiscovered in well-studied places.
Researchers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville report the discovery of a new genus and species of eyeless cavefish, Demogorgonichthys arcanus, in Bobcat Cave beneath Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. The less-than-2-inch, colorless fish is faintly electric blue in life and represents a distinct lineage from the nearby Southern Cavefish, illustrating convergent evolution. Found in a well-studied cave system, its habitat may be threatened by surface contamination from the military base, including elevated cadmium, chromium, and lead in groundwater. The findings were published in Scientific Reports and led by Dr. Matthew L. Niemiller, highlighting that even famous sites can hide unknown biodiversity.
Florida Atlantic University researchers found that the blind Mexican cavefish become more active when exposed to light, a light-evoked photokinesis opposite to surface fish, driven by dopamine signaling and repurposed brain circuits; the behavior appears heritable, offering insights into brain evolution and potential relevance to human neurological conditions.
Researchers studying blind cave-dwelling fish across three Southern states report rapid, cave-specific adaptations in darkness, suggesting evolution can occur underground and offering a fresh perspective on Darwin’s ideas about where and how evolutionary change happens.