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rediscovered in Brazil

First and foremost, happy 2011. I hope this coming year to update the blog and bring much news and interesting curiosities. Well, let's curiosity with the first year. Discovery is a few months ago:


The Stygichthys is Typhlops known in Brazil as "piabinha cega" and has its habitat in underground aquifers Crab . Endemic of Minas Gerais , Brazil . Almost 50 years after s and found an unspecified number of these fish and have been reviewed by U.S. experts. The discovery was published in the Journal of Fish Biology .

Stygichthys Typhlops

Biologists suspect that these fish may be a vestige of life that has survived in the depths and the earth while their relatives became extinct long ago.

"This is the most enigmatic of the order Characiformes, a group of freshwater fish including piranhas and tetras"

says Dr. Moreira. These fish are subterranean blind but the vast majority of Charciformes living in surface and have no vision problems.

"never collected, as was supposed to be a species that was endangered. However, no one knew. There was no information of their distribution, abundance, whatever."

The first and only specimen was captured in 1962 from a communal well used by the inhabitants of the town of Crab, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

This fish was brought to America by Dr. Joseph Tosi Jr., an ecologist who was in the region at the time, and was described later by specialists in the U.S..

For this to find the fish, the team interviewed local people. They claimed they had seen the fish swimming in open wells.
The region is dry and people depend on these wells. This has caused water levels have declined from the very first encounter with this fish.


The team managed to collect 34 samples, which allowed to discover more about these fish as curious.


This fish is white and has a lack of pigmentation in their skin, something common among animals that live in underground cavities, like blindness.

"However, morphologically, the Stygichthys is very different from any species of its group, so much so that we can not yet say which species are most closely related"

says Dr. Moreira.


But Typhlops Stygichthys is not the only characiform who lives underground and is blind. The Astyanax fasciatus other tetra blind. The eyes of this species have declined and pigmentation as well. Other populations of the same species still living on earth, without these adjustments.

Astyanax fasciatus

"could represent the last fish is left of a group Characiformes extinct, what might be called a relic "

" The species on the surface of this group might have undergone extinction, while the Stygichthys because their habitat was saved. But this is only speculation "

speculates Dr. Moreira. But this fish is in danger.

" This species appears to be the most endangered fish in Brazil underground "

is believed that only live in a specific aquifer 25 km long that runs under the ground in the region. And their habitat is endangered. These are words Eleonora Trajano, also of the University of São Paulo :

"The fact that most wells in Minas Gerais being dried is very worrying"

"The excessive extraction of water from the aquifers should lead to extinction. surely disappear in the next 50 years"

According to the researcher, the key threat is the pumping of groundwater for irrigation of banana crops in the region.

Cave is home to the Typhlops Stygichthys

Well, I hope that this curious story has been to your liking. Wait for the next entry is sure going to like. Greetings to all fans!