Eigenmannia vicentespelaea
| Eigenmannia vicentespelaea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Gymnotiformes |
| Family: | Sternopygidae |
| Genus: | Eigenmannia |
| Species: | E. vicentespelaea |
| Binomial name | |
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Eigenmannia vicentespelaea Triques, 1996 |
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| Occurrences of E. vicentespelaea | |
Eigenmannia vicentespelaea is a species of weakly electric knifefish in the family Sternopygidae. Native to the São Domingos karst area in central Brazil, it is the only known knifefish to exclusively inhabit caves. Measuring up to 12 cm (4.7 in) long, E. vicentespelaea can be distinguished from its relatives by its translucent body and reduced or absent eyes. As some individuals retain well-developed eyes, this fish may have colonized caves only recently in evolutionary time.
Brazilian ichthyologist Mauro Luís Triques described E. vicentespelaea in a 1996 volume of the scientific journal Revue Française de Aquariologie, from two specimens caught in 1978. He chose the specific epithet vicentespelaea from the São Vicente I cave, the type locality, and speleum, Latin for "cave". Based on color pattern and morphology, it is included in the E. virescens species group with E. virescens, E. trilineata, and a third undescribed species.
The only known troglobitic (exclusively cave-dwelling) member of the order Gymnotiformes, E. vicentespelaea is found in the São Vicente I and São Vicente II caves near São Domingos, in the central Brazilian state of Goiás. These limestone karst caves are fed by streams connected to the Paranã River, a tributary of the upper in the Amazon Basin.
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