Stygichthys

Stygichthys
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Characidae
Genus: Stygichthys
Brittan & J. E. Böhlke, 1965
Species: S. typhlops
Binomial name
Stygichthys typhlops
Brittan & J. E. Böhlke, 1965

Stygichthys typhlops, the blind tetra or Brazilian blind characid, is a species of fish in the Characidae family and the only member of the genus Stygichthys. It is endemic to caves in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil.[1] Like other cave-adapted fish (e.g. the cave form of the Mexican tetra), the Brazilian blind characid is blind and lacks pigmentation.[1]

Initially only known from a specimen collected in 1962, it has recently been rediscovered by researchers led by the ichthyologist Dr Cristiano Moreira from the University of São Paulo.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Moreira, C. R.; Bichuette, M. E.; Oyakawa, O. T; de Pinna, M. C. C.; Trajano, E. (7 May 2010). "Rediscovery and redescription of the unusual subterranean characiform Stygichthys typhlops, with notes on its life history" (PDF Adobe Acrobat). Journal of Fish Biology (London: Wiley InterScience) 76 (7): 1815–1824. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2010.02625.x. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  2. Walker, Matt (10 May 2010). "Rare subterranean fish rediscovered in Brazil". London: BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
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