Biology:Caecocypris
Caecocypris basimi, the Haditha cavefish, is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Iraq, only occurring in aquifers near Haditha. It is found in an underground sinkhole directly under a shrine the only way to access which is a well 5m below the shrine.[1] This cavefish is the only member of its genus. The species is classed as Critically endangered, possibly extinct, by the IUCN, as there have been no records since 1983 despite a comprehensive survey in 2012.[2] The primary threat is water extraction, which has lowered the groundwater level.[2] It is placed as one of the top 10 lost freshwater fishes to be found.[3]
The cavefish Garra widdowsoni is found in the same place and it has also drastically declined, but it is not as rare as Caecocypris basimi.[2][4] The only other known cavefish in Iraq is Eidinemacheilus proudlovei.[5]
The holotype of Caecocypris basimi, collected by Dr. Basim M Al Azzawi in 1977, is deposited at the British Museum of Natural History and other specimens are at the Australian Museum.[6]
References
- ↑ "lost fishes" (in en). http://www.rewild.org/lost-species/lost-fishes.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namediucn status 15 November 2021 - ↑ Edmondstone, Michael. "The Search for Lost Fishes" (in en-US). https://shoalconservation.org/search-for-lost-fishes/.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Caecocypris basimi" in FishBase. August 2011 version.
- ↑ Freyhof, J.; Abdullah, Y.S.; Ararat, K.; Ibrahim, H.; & Geiger, M.F. (2016): Eidinemacheilus proudlovei, a new subterranean loach from Iraqi Kurdistan (Teleostei; Nemacheilidae). Zootaxa, 4173 (3): 225-236.
- ↑ Banister, K. E.; M. K. Bunni (1980). "A new blind cyprinid fish from Iraq". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 38 (3): 151-158. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2280613.
Wikidata ☰ Q5016721 entry
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