Post by anakvr on Aug 3, 2006 20:01:27 GMT -5
Here is article by Tracy Crede " Ghost Fish of the Ozarks " that is very great! Ozark Cavefish scientific name Amblyopsis rosae
Mystery and imagination take over when we think about caves. These dark places harbor magical creatures. In fact, stories of "ghost fish" living in caves have been told since the days Native Americans roamed the Missouri Ozarks.
That "ghost fish" today is known as the Ozark cavefish. It is a 2-inch-long pale, almost colorless blind fish living only in caves and springs on the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri and nearby parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Ruth Hoppin, a caver and explorer, collected cavefish in Jasper County in 1888. She also collected the first specimens of the bristly cave crayfish, an unpigmented, blind crayfish that has a range similar to the Ozark cavefish.
Like many other cave-adapted animals, Ozark cavefish have lost their skin pigmentation, leaving them so translucent that their blood vessels are visible. Eyes are unnecessary for creatures living in near perpetual darkness, so they have gradually devolved to become small spots of residual nerves. Although cavefish do not have eyes, they "see" with sensory organs on their head and sides. These small whiskerlike projections help the fish feel its way through the water and detect the movements of prey.
read all article url
www.nativefish.org/articles/Cavefish.php
Mystery and imagination take over when we think about caves. These dark places harbor magical creatures. In fact, stories of "ghost fish" living in caves have been told since the days Native Americans roamed the Missouri Ozarks.
That "ghost fish" today is known as the Ozark cavefish. It is a 2-inch-long pale, almost colorless blind fish living only in caves and springs on the Springfield Plateau of southwest Missouri and nearby parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Ruth Hoppin, a caver and explorer, collected cavefish in Jasper County in 1888. She also collected the first specimens of the bristly cave crayfish, an unpigmented, blind crayfish that has a range similar to the Ozark cavefish.
Like many other cave-adapted animals, Ozark cavefish have lost their skin pigmentation, leaving them so translucent that their blood vessels are visible. Eyes are unnecessary for creatures living in near perpetual darkness, so they have gradually devolved to become small spots of residual nerves. Although cavefish do not have eyes, they "see" with sensory organs on their head and sides. These small whiskerlike projections help the fish feel its way through the water and detect the movements of prey.
read all article url
www.nativefish.org/articles/Cavefish.php
