Forbesichthys agassizii, Spring cavefish

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Forbesichthys agassizii (Putnam, 1872)

Spring cavefish
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Forbesichthys agassizii
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Percopsiformes (Trout-perches, pirate perches and cavefishes) > Amblyopsidae (Cavefishes)
Etymology: agassizii: Named after the great naturalist Louis Agassiz (Ref. 10294).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Temperate; 39°N - 35°N

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: portions of Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri, U.S.A.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 10294); common length : 5.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. reported age: 3.00 years (Ref. 10294)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-11; Anal soft rays: 9 - 11; Vertebrae: 33 - 35. Scales minute and embedded. Pelvic fins absent. Branched caudal fin rays 11-17; branchiostegal rays 6. Triads of sensory papillae occur midlaterally and scattered clusters of neuromasts are present on the head. Coloration uniform dark gray to back with paler venter.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur in springs and caves (but almost always near surface). They live underground but emerge above ground in springs (Ref. 5723). Active in springs at night and usually retreat underground during the day. The few individuals which venture into the spring portions of their habitat may show strong rheotaxis for half to one-minute periods but usually show strong thigmotaxis and hide under rocks or debris (Ref. 34868). Feed at night on amphipods, midge larvae, tiny worms and micro-crustaceans. Fecundity averages about 100 eggs per female (Ref. 10294). Eggs are carried in gill chambers of females (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Incubates eggs in gill chamber of females (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes, 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. (pls. check date). (Ref. 10294)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 27 January 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
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Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
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Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0088   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.44 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.67; tm=1; tmax=3; Fec = 100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (21 of 100).