Scientists Discover Eyeless Catfish In Texas Cave
A team of researchers from the University of Texas Austin has discovered an eyeless catfish from deep inside a cave in Texas. The blind fish is of keen interest to the researchers as the rare and unusual species has been recovered from a totally new area for the fish to inhabit ever.
According to reports, the researchers believe that the discovery of eyeless catfish from a cave in Texas indicates that deep down there, the underground cave might be connected to Mexico. Identified as Mexican blindcat, the fish was found swimming in a limestone cave in the Amistad National Recreation Area in southern Texas.
The 3-inch long fish was first discovered in Texas in May 2016. However, the findings were reported this week by the researchers. According to the team, there have been rumors surrounding the existence of blind, white catfishes in the area since the 1960s. However, this is the first time that anyone has been able to spot one of these and report the findings.
Ichthyologist Dean Hendrickson, who claims to have seen many of these creatures in his lifetime, says that the one recovered from the cave in Texas clearly resembles the blind catfishes from Mexico. Before the discovery of the eyeless catfish, these were only thought to exist in north of the Rio Grande.
The research team started to hunt the Amistad area for catfish after a National Park Service employee claimed seeing unusual and strange fish in the area in April 2015. The fish spotted by the employee had their blood visible through their skin, which was translucent. Eventually, the research team found the eyeless catfish within the cave system.
This is the first time that researchers have been able to trace the Mexican blindcat in the US. Previously, only two species of blind catfish were known to exist in the country - the Widemouth blindcat and the toothless blindcat.
