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Alabama Cavefishes
Speoplatyrhinus
The Alabama cavefish (Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni) is a critically endangered species of amblyopsid cavefish found only in underground pools in Key Cave, located in northwestern Alabama, United States in the Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge. It was discovered underneath a colony of gray bats in 1967 by researchers Robert A. Kuehne and John E. Cooper and scientifically described in 1974.
On any single visit to the cave, no more than 10 individuals of this fish have been observed, and scientists estimate fewer than 100 are left. This species of fish is believed to be the rarest species of cavefish in the United States and one of the rarest of all freshwater fish, as researchers have failed to find the fish in any other location. The Alabama cavefish exists in a fragile ecosystem based on nutrient-rich guano of the gray bat.
1 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 1 known species
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
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Every page naming Speoplatyrhinus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 92152.