Eigenmannia vicentespelaea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eigenmannia vicentespelaea |
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The Eigenmannia vicentespelaea is a special type of weakly electric knifefish. It belongs to the family called Sternopygidae. This fish is unique because it's the only knifefish known to live only in caves.
It lives in the São Domingos cave area in central Brazil. This fish can grow up to 21 cm (8.3 in) long. You can tell it apart from other knifefish because its body is see-through. Also, its eyes are very small or sometimes even missing. Since some of these fish still have good eyes, scientists think they might have moved into caves fairly recently in evolutionary time.
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About Its Name
A Brazilian fish expert named Mauro Luís Triques first described E. vicentespelaea in 1996. He wrote about it in a science magazine called Revue Française de Aquariologie. He studied two fish that were found in 1978.
He named the fish vicentespelaea after the São Vicente I cave. This was the first place where the fish was found. The word speleum is Latin for "cave". This fish is part of a group of similar species, including E. virescens and E. trilineata.
Where It Lives
E. vicentespelaea is the only knifefish that lives only in caves. This means it is a troglobitic animal. It is found in the São Vicente I and São Vicente II caves. These caves are near São Domingos in the central Brazilian state of Goiás.
These caves are made of limestone and are part of a karst system. They get their water from streams that connect to the Paranã River. This river is a branch of the upper Tocantins River, which flows into the Amazon Basin.
Other knifefish species have also been seen in the São Vicente II cave. However, these other fish also live in rivers and streams above ground. They are not true cave-dwellers like E. vicentespelaea.
What It Looks Like
The Eigenmannia vicentespelaea has a long, flat body. Its top and bottom parts are curved. Its body gets thinner towards the end and does not have a caudal fin (tail fin). It has a long anal fin that runs along most of its body. It does not have a dorsal fin (back fin) or pelvic fins (belly fins).
Its snout (nose area) is short. It has a small mouth at the very front with tiny, thin teeth. Its back nostrils are close to its eyes. Most of these fish have very small eyes, and some don't have eyes that can be seen from the outside at all. Its gill openings are small.
Its whole body is covered in tiny, round scales. When the fish is alive, it looks see-through. It is even more see-through than other Eigenmannia fish. It usually has two or three thin lines across its body. This fish is one of the larger ones in its group, growing up to 20.8 cm (8.2 in) long.
How It Lives
The different eye sizes in E. vicentespelaea suggest that this fish might not have lived in caves for a very long time. All South American knifefish can make an electric field. They use this field to find their way around and find food in the dark. This ability helped them move into completely dark cave environments.
E. vicentespelaea grows larger than its relatives that live above ground. This might be because it faces less danger from predation (being eaten) or competition for food once it started living in caves.
Protecting This Fish
E. vicentespelaea is at risk because of siltation. This happens when dirt and mud wash into the caves. This is caused by cutting down riparian forests (trees along rivers) upstream from its cave home. Luckily, the area where this fish lives is protected by the Terra Ronca State Park.
See also
In Spanish: Eigenmannia vicentespelaea para niños
