Juil ciego facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Juil ciego |
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The juil ciego or blindwhiskered catfish (Rhamdia reddelli) is a special type of fish found only in Mexico. It's a cavefish, meaning it lives its whole life in a stream that flows through a single cave system.
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What Does It Look Like?
This fish has no color, just like other animals that live only in dark caves. It doesn't have eyes, so it can't see. Instead, it uses special senses like taste, smell, and touch to find its way around and locate food in the dark.
The blindwhiskered catfish is a small fish, growing up to about 11 centimeters (4 inches) long. It has a flat head, a long fin on its back, and a tail that looks like a fork. It also has three long whiskers, called barbels, on its chin. These whiskers are full of special cells that help it sense things.
Where Does It Live?
The blindwhiskered catfish lives in only one cave system in Mexico. An underground stream, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) long, flows through this cave.
This cave is located near a place called San Antonio Cañada. This area is in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca mountains, which are southeast of Mexico City.
How Does It Survive?
No living plants grow in this cave, so the fish mostly eats tiny bits of dead plants and animals. These bits are washed into the cave from the outside world. Another food source is bat droppings, called guano. Sometimes, dead bats also fall into the water, providing more food.
Because food is scarce and doesn't always arrive, the fish has a very slow metabolism. This means its body uses energy slowly. It also stores fat in its body to help it survive when food is hard to find.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The blindwhiskered catfish only breeds when there is enough food. It lays only a few eggs at a time. In some years, if food is very scarce, the fish might not breed at all.
After the young fish hatch, the parents take care of them. They keep the newly hatched babies in their mouth to protect them from danger. This helps the young fish survive in the harsh cave environment.
Why Is It Endangered?
Since this fish lives in only one cave system, it is very vulnerable. Things like pollution of the spring or stream that flows into the cave could be very dangerous. A single bad event could wipe out the entire population.
Because of these risks, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the blindwhiskered catfish as "critically endangered". This means it faces a very high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.
