Widemouth blindcat

The widemouth blindcat (Satan eurystomus) is a species of North American freshwater catfish endemic to Texas in the United States. It is the only representative of the genus Satan.

Widemouth Blindcat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Ictaluridae
Genus: Satan
C. L. Hubbs & R. M. Bailey, 1947
Species:
S. eurystomus
Binomial name
Satan eurystomus
C. L. Hubbs & R. M. Bailey, 1947

The widemouth blindcat's closest relative is the much larger flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris.[2]

It was first discovered inhabiting a well, and is adapted for a lightless underground environment. This species is distributed in five artesian wells penetrating the San Antonio Pool of the Edwards Aquifer in and near San Antonio, Texas.[3] These fish have been found with crustacean exoskeletons in their stomachs, and may be the top carnivore in their habitat.[2]

Like other cavefish, the widemouth blindcat lacks pigmentation and has no externally visible eyes. The eye remnants are extremely reduced in size with very little or no trace of a retina or lens; the optic tract is present, but always regresses before reaching the brain. The swim bladder in these fish is reduced, and the skull is mostly cartilaginous and not well-ossified, unlike the adults of most larger ictalurids. The lateral line is fragmentary and never reaches past the anterior part of the anal fin. This species also has a few paedomorphic traits (indicated by small size, kidney morphology, and weak ossification of the skeleton).[2] This species grows to about 13.7 cm (5.4 in) TL.[3]

The widemouth blindcat is a vulnerable species, and is threatened by groundwater pollution.[3]

See also

References
  1. 2010 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.2. . Downloaded in August 2010.
  2. Langecker, Thomas G.; Longley, Glenn (1993). "Morphological Adaptations of the Texas Blind Catfishes Trogloglanis pattersoni and Satan eurystomus (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae) to Their Underground Environment". Copeia. Copeia, Vol. 1993, No. 4. 1993 (4): 976–986. doi:10.2307/1447075. JSTOR 1447075.
  3. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Satan eurystomus" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
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