Cave catfish (Clarias cavernicola)

Species information

Videos and images

Threats

The cave catfish is found only within a single cave in Namibia and is therefore at inherent risk of extinction due to any chance event. The main threat to the species comes from the depletion of ground water within the cave, and the exploitation of aquifer water may pose the most serious threat in the long-term (3).

Conservation

The protection of the Aigamas Cave is vital in the conservation of this species, and the present owner is sympathetic to the sensitivity of the cave, only allowing access or collection of the cave catfish with a Nature Conservation Permit (3). Twenty captive specimens were held in the National Zoological Gardens' aquarium in Pretoria for several years (3), but no longer persist (7). There is also a move to provide legislative protection for this rare and unique fish (3).