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
|
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]