Spring cavefish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spring cavefish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: |
Percopsiformes
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| Family: |
Amblyopsidae
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| Genus: |
Forbesicthys
D. S. Jordan, 1929
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| Species: |
F. agassizii
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| Binomial name | |
| Forbesichthys agassizii (Putnam, 1872)
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| Synonyms | |
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Chologaster agassizii Putnam, 1872 |
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The spring cavefish (Forbesichthys agassizii) is a special type of fish. It's the only member of its group, called Forbesichthys. This fish is one of seven species in the Amblyopsidae family.
Even though it's listed as endangered in Missouri, experts worldwide consider it to be of "least concern." This is because there are still many of them in different places. The spring cavefish lives in caves, springs, and underground streams. It comes out at night and goes back underground before the sun rises. You can find this fish in parts of the central and southeastern United States. These fish are meat-eaters and are very good at living in their dark homes.
Contents
Where the Spring Cavefish Lives
Its Home Across the US
The spring cavefish was first found in a deep well in Lebanon, Tennessee. Now, we know it lives in the central and southeastern parts of the United States. You can find it in certain springs, underground streams, and caves. Its range stretches from central and western Kentucky to south central Tennessee. It also lives in areas across southern Illinois to southeastern Missouri.
Why Their Homes Are Changing
Sadly, the places where spring cavefish live have become smaller. What happens on the ground above can really affect these fish. Anything that makes the water dirty or reduces its amount can harm them. They are easily hurt by pollution from many sources.
Some of these pollution sources include nearby farms, septic tanks, city runoff, mines, and animal waste. Some springs change a lot in how much water flows or how clear it is. This happens because they are directly connected to surface water. Also, people have changed many springs for water supplies or other reasons.
How the Spring Cavefish Lives
Appearance and Daily Life
Spring cavefish stay underground during the day. They come out into surface waters when it gets dark. They are dark brown on top and get lighter, a creamy brown, towards their belly. They can grow up to about 3.5 centimeters (1.4 inches) long. Their head slopes down, and their lower jaw sticks out. This fish does not have pelvic fins or adipose fins. Its dorsal fin is set further back on its body than most fish.
Amazing Senses in the Dark
The spring cavefish is very well adapted to its dark home. It has a great sensory system, which means it can feel and sense things around it. This system is made of special clusters on its head. Most fish use their eyes to find food, but the spring cavefish has underdeveloped eyes. It can only tell the difference between light and darkness.
Instead of sight, they use their other senses. They can't tell if something is food just by touching it. But once it touches their lips, their sense of taste helps them know if they can eat it.
What They Eat
Food can be hard to find in cave habitats. So, spring cavefish have a special way to deal with this: they sometimes eat other spring cavefish! This is called cannibalism. This behavior helps the adult fish survive when food is scarce. It also helps control the fish population in the cave.
Because of this, you could say the spring cavefish is its own predator. There aren't many other natural predators in the caves. However, they also eat many different insects, small crustaceans, smaller fish, and some detritus (bits of decaying matter).
Challenges in Cave Homes
Cave environments usually have a very steady temperature. But the animals living there depend on food being brought in by underground streams. This makes spring cavefish very sensitive to outside changes. For example, underground water sources are being used more and more for watering crops. This means many cave habitats might dry out, either for a short time or forever.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
How Spring Cavefish Reproduce
We don't know a lot about how spring cavefish breed. They lay their eggs underground in the dark. This usually happens between January and April. Spring cavefish are oviparous, which means they lay eggs. What's interesting is that the females carry the eggs inside their gill chambers! Each female can produce about 100 young fish.
On average, a spring cavefish lives for about three years. They usually grow to be about 1.8 to 2.6 inches long.
Protecting the Spring Cavefish
Conservation Efforts
It's hard to make good plans to protect animals that live only in caves. This is because we often don't know enough about where they live or how many there are. As mentioned, the spring cavefish is listed as endangered in Missouri. But the IUCN Red List, a global group, says it's of "least concern." This is because it has a fairly large population spread across many different locations.
Even so, the number of spring cavefish is going down, and we don't always know why. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is planning to study these fish. They want to learn more about where they live, how many there are, their habits, and what threatens them. Kentucky and Missouri are the two main states working to manage and protect this species. Missouri has even bought a special area called Cape LaCroix Bluffs Conservation Area. This 63.21-acre area helps protect the spring cavefish's home. It has natural wetlands, limestone cliffs, and unique forests found in eastern Missouri.
