Amblyopsis is a genus of small (up to 11 cm or 4.3 in long) fish in the family Amblyopsidae that are endemic to the central and eastern United States.[1] Like other cavefish, they lack pigmentation and are blind.[2] The most recently described species was in 2014.[3] Uniquely among fish, Amblyopsis brood their eggs in the gill chambers (somewhat like mouthbrooders).[4] It was formerly incorrectly speculated that the same brooding behavior existed in other genera in the family and in the pirate perch (Aphredoderus sayanus).[4][5] During the Pleistocene period, the modern Ohio river was a barrier of dispersal and created a great genetic variation, leading to two phylogenetically distinct lineages from the species Amblyopsis.[6]
| Amblyopsis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ozark cavefish A. rosae | |
 | |
| Northern cavefish A. spelaea | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Percopsiformes |
| Family: | Amblyopsidae |
| Genus: | Amblyopsis DeKay, 1842 |
| Type species | |
| Amblyopsis spelaeus DeKay, 1842 | |
Species
There are currently 3 species of this genus:[1]
- Amblyopsis hoosieri Niemiller, Prejean & Chakrabarty, 2014 (Hoosier cavefish)[3]
- Amblyopsis rosae C. H. Eigenmann, 1898 (Ozark cavefish)
- Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842 (northern cavefish)
References
Bibliography
Darwin, Charles (1979). The Origin of Species. John Murray. ISBN 0-517-30978-5.