There are only four total known species of underground catfish in North America. Endangered Species Act in Mexico in 1970, but it weren’t discovered in Texas until 2015. Mexican blindcats were protected under the U.S. The rock in the aquifer is highly porous and vulnerable to contamination from agriculture, development, and fossil fuel extraction. The biggest threats to the blindcat’s survival are overuse of groundwater and pollution. Once they were thought to live only in Mexico their presence in Texas shows that the watershed is connected across the border and reflects the connection of human and natural communities between the two countries. Humans are completely dependent on the groundwater supply for drinking water and other uses. Most people never get to see these fish, but they’re important: Their health reflects the health of the groundwater where they live. Their lateral lines help them detect motion in the water, and they’ll swallow any small prey they come across, though they can survive long periods without eating. Their snout overhangs their mouth, which, along with their sharp sense of smell, helps them hunt for macroinvertebrates. They can grow to be about 5 inches long and look pinkish because they have translucent skin that allows their blood vessels to show through. The Mexican blindcat is a catfish that lives only in groundwater - up to 2,000 feet underground in the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer underlying the Rio Grande Basin in Texas and Coahuila, Mexico.Īs their name implies, blindcats are eyeless.
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