Sunday 19 May
Anguila ciega (Ophisternon infernale)
Anguila ciega fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Anguila ciega description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Synbranchiformes |
| Family | Synbranchidae |
| Genus | Ophisternon (1) |
Like many cave-dwelling species, the Anguila ciega (Ophisternon infernale), otherwise known as the blind swamp eel, has lost its eyes and pigmentation, which are of no use in the dark depths of a cave (3). Instead, this fish has a large number of sensitive pores on its long, bulb-shaped head to detect environmental stimuli (2) (3). This is a very elongate fish with an exceptionally long tail, giving it a somewhat worm-like appearance (2).
- Also known as
- Blind swamp eel.
- Spanish
- Anguila Ciega.
- Size
- Length: up to at least 32.5 cm (2)
-
Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna of the World:
http://www.tamug.edu/cavebiology/fauna/bonyfish/O_infernale.html - Aquifer
- An underground layer of rock and sand that contains water.
- Oviparous
- Method of reproduction in which eggs are laid and embryos develop outside of the mother’s body.
- Saline waters
- Containing salt.
-
IUCN Red List (January, 2007)
http://www.iucnredlist.org -
Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna of the World (January, 2007)
http://www.tamug.edu/cavebiology/fauna/bonyfish/O_infernale.html - Romero, A. (2009) Cave Biology: Life in Darkness, Cambridge University Press, UK.
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
Anguila ciega biology
The Anguila ciega builds mucus-lined burrows in organic rich sediments within the freshwater part of the aquifer. This species is able to tolerate low oxygen concentration levels and can even breathe atmospheric oxygen. The diet is thought to primarily comprise stygobitic shrimp (Creaseria morleyi), and reproduction is reportedly oviparous, or egg-laying (2).
TopAnguila ciega range
The Anguila ciega occurs in central and northern Yucatan peninsula, Mexico (3).
More »
Top
Species with a similar range
Anguila ciega habitat
The Anguila ciega is found in freshwater limestone caves and sinkholes (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Anguila ciega status
The Anguila ciega is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Anguila ciega threats
The main threats to this species are various forms of water pollution caused by humans. In rural areas sewage is rarely treated before being discarded, and industrial and domestic waste is sometimes disposed of in caves. Another threat comes from over-harvesting of freshwater, which may lead to saline waters creeping into the normally freshwater zone. The human population of the Yucatan peninsula is growing, so a greater and greater strain on water resources can be expected in the future. Another potential threat is the modification and/or the intensive use of this fish’s habitat by humans for recreational or tourism purposes (2).
TopAnguila ciega conservation
There are currently no conservation measures targeting the Anguila ciega.
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For more information on the Anguila ciega:
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
Glossary
References
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Saturday 18 May
Friday 17 May
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Anguila ciega, head detail
© Dr. Thomas M. Iliffe
Dr. Thomas M. Iliffe
Department of Marine Biology
Texas A&M University at Galveston
5007 Ave. U
Galveston
TX
77551
United States of America
iliffe@cavebiology.com
http://www.cavebiology.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.