Northern cavefish | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Percopsiformes |
Family: | Amblyopsidae |
Genus: | Amblyopsis |
Species: | A. spelaea |
Binomial name | |
Amblyopsis spelaea DeKay, 1842 |
The northern cavefish or northern blindfish, Amblyopsis spelaea, is found in caves through Kentucky and southern Indiana. It is listed as a threatened species in the United States and the IUCN lists the species as near threatened.
During a 2013 study of Amblyopsis spelaea, scientists found that the species was divided into two distinct evolutionary lineages: one north of the Ohio River, in Indiana, and one south of the river, in Kentucky. The southern population retained the name A. spelaea and the northern was re-designated Amblyopsis hoosieri in a 2014 paper published in the journal ZooKeys. Neither species is found north of the White River, flowing east to west south of Bedford, Indiana.