Browsing by Subject "Trogloglanis pattersoni"

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Discovery of Endangered Mexican Blindcat, Prietella phreatophila, in Texas: Implications for International Groundwater Management and Evolution of the Regional Karst Aquifer Biota
(2017-07-15) Hendrickson, Dean A.; Hernández-Espriú, Antonio; Dugan, Laura; Sprouse, Peter; Dávila Paulín, José Antonio; Krejca, Jean; Gluesenkamp, Andrew; Reddell, James; Smith, Ryan; Howard, Sarah; Johnson, Jack; Garrett, Gary P.; Cohen, Adam E.; García De León, Francisco J.; Wolaver, Brad; Fenolio, Dante B.
Mexican blindcat, Prietella phreatophila, described in 1954 from a cave system near the town of Múzquiz in central Coahuila state, and considered a Mexican endemic, was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a foreign endangered species (protected "wherever found") in 1970. Explorations in the 1990s discovered many new localities extending nearly to the international border, and in 2016 the species was discovered in Amistad National Recreation Area (ANRA) in Texas, just north of the international border near Del Rio. Not only does the discovery support the aquifer of this fish being an internationally shared resource, but the stygobitic invertebrate biota found with the fish indicates a potentially large extent of the aquifer, and thus possibly the fish, in Texas. Invertebrate faunal connections (historic or current) extend from the Amistad Lake area of the new occurrence west into the Trans-Pecos region and east into the Edwards Aquifer of central Texas. We explore implications of this for both water management and evolutionary history of this and other blind ictalurids, and suggest that population genetic studies of both stygobitic fishes and invertebrates could help hydrogeologists better define often difficult to map aquifer extents and interconnections. While NPS is continuing to support the cave explorations of ANRA that produced the Texas discovery, we propose a broader bi-national sampling effort for both the fish and invertebrates extending well beyond the current known distribution of P. phreatophila. We also pointed out questions about phylogenetic relatedness of P. phreatophila and P. lundbergi further south, as well as the possibility of a monophyletic clade of blindcats, including those of the Edwards Aquifer, Satan and Trogloglanis. If substantiated, that evolutionary history would imply broader historic inter-aquifer connections ranging from the San Antonio area as far south as southernmost Tamaulipas. Finally, we report establishment of a small captive population of Prietella phreatophila at San Antonio Zoo for research and possibly eventual conservation applications.
Extreme Catfish
(North American Native Fish Associaton, 2004) Sneegas, Garold; Hendrickson, Dean A.
Below the city of San Antonio Texas lies a vast aquifer known as the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer. Two rare and unusual catfish reside in the aquifer, Satan eurystomus, the widemouth blindcat and Trogloglanis pattersoni, the toothless blindcat. They are the only known troglobitic catfish in the United States. The only specimens of both species ever collected have come from deep (1,200' to 1,500') artesian wells within the city of San Antonio itself and parts of southern Bexar County.
Supplementary animation & Data for: Satan’s skeleton revealed: a tomographic and comparative osteology of Satan eurystomus, the subterranean Widemouth Blindcat (Siluriformes, Ictaluridae). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 165: 117-173
(Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 2017) Lundberg, John G.; Hendrickson, Dean A.; Luckenbill, Kyle R.; Arce H., Mariangeles
The Widemouth Blindcat, Satan eurystomus Hubbs and Bailey 1947, was the second of four stygobitic species of Ictaluridae discovered in the subterranean waters of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. The skeletal anatomy of Satan has been scarcely known from a few, dated radiographs. Using additional radiographs and high resolution CT-datasets for two well-ossified specimens, we applied high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (HRXCT) to visualize, illustrate and describe the bony skeleton of Satan. We also provide an online archive of still and animated tomographic images of the skeletal anatomy of this little-known species. The skeleton and soft anatomy of Satan are distinctive. Twelve skeletal autapomorphies are described that singularly distinguish Satan within Ictaluridae and, probably in combination, from all other catfishes. Some of these are reductive losses or simplifications of skull bones (e.g. loss of one infraorbital bone; reduced ornamentation of the pterotic bone) and joint complexity (e.g. simple overlapping frontal-lateral ethmoid articulation; loosely ligamentous interopercle-posterior ceratohyal joint). Some of the autapomorphies are anatomically and perhaps developmentally complex (e.g. a novel series of three midline joints closing a middle span of the posterior cranial fontanel; a deeply excavated temporal fossa and an unusually enlarged interhyal bone). The tiny dorsal-fin spinelet (first lepidotrich) of Satan has a novel peaked and twisted shape. Ten apparent and exclusive synapomorphies within Ictaluridae gathered from this and previous studies suggest that Satan and Pylodictis are closest relatives. Most of these are functionally related to prey detection and suction feeding: fusion of the symphyseal mandibular sensory pores and increase in the number of preoperculo-mandibular canal pores; depressed, flattened heads and wide transverse mouths; prominent posterior process of the lateral ethmoid alongside and below the frontal bone margin; vertical and blade-like supraoccipital posterior process; unique arrangement of the parasagittal and occipital muscle-attachment crests on the skull roof; large triangular panel of integument within the operculum framed by the opercle, preopercle and interopercle bones; elongated posterior ceratohyal; and, form of the fourth supraneural and loss of its anterior nuchal plate. In contrast, fifteen synapomorphies recovered by Arce-H. et al. 2016, are confirmed suggesting that Satan is one of the four stygobitic ictalurids comprising a “Troglobites” subclade within the family: (Trogloglanis, Satan, Prietella phreatophila, P. lundbergi). These features include three stygomorphic and reduction apomorphies that are exclusive within Ictaluridae: loss of fully developed eyes and pigmentation, and simplification of the fifth vertebra and its joint with the Weberian apparatus. Twelve other synapomorphies shown by the Troglobites are also apparent homoplasies of character states shared with various other ictalurids. These include reductive characters such as shortened lateral line canal, reduced infraorbitals and underdeveloped or incomplete ossifications of the pterotic, supraoccipital, hyoid arch bones and transcapular ligament. Also, the Troglobites and various other ictalurids have: an adnate adipose-caudal fin, foreshortened anterior cranial fontanelle, reduced ventral wings of the frontal bone, replacement of bone by cartilage in hypohyal joints; incompletely ossified transcapular ligament, and consolidation of some hypural bones. Completing a full morphological character dataset across the Troglobites has been impeded by incomplete specimen preparations and study of P. lundbergi and to a lesser extent, P. phreatophila and Trogloglanis.
Update on taxonomic & conservation status of North American blindcats (Ictaluridae)
(2022-11-18) Hendrickson, Dean A.; Lundberg, John; Luckenbill, Kyle; Arce-H., Mariangeles
We provide an updated overview of the taxonomic and conservation status of all North American blind Ictalurids, and continuing efforts to better understand them. In Texas’ deep Edwards Aquifer under San Antonio, Satan eurystomus (Widemouth Blindcat) has not been collected since 1984, but fragments of Trogloglanis pattersoni (Toothless Blindcat) continue to appear occasionally from the only well still consistently available for sampling, providing material for its recently published complete mitogenome. A metabarcoding-based eDNA sampling project hoping to detect blindcats (and other taxa) is now in early testing in wells throughout the San Antonio area. Lack of access to wells remains a major roadblock for that effort, but we have promising outreach efforts developing that we hope will open doors for sampling in the near future. In the adjacent transboundary Edwards-Trinity Aquifer, new localities have been found for Prietella phreatophila (Mexican Blindcat) in both Coahuila and Texas, and a captive colony at San Antonio Zoo continues to thrive and grow. Two complete mitochondrial genomes from 2 specimens of this species using different methodologies are now available. We present new CT data that indicate specimens from a cave ~25 km N of the type locality of Prietella lundbergi (Phantom Blindcat) in Tamaulipas, México, initially reported as that species, represent an undescribed taxon. Multiple attempts by divers to obtain additional specimens of P. lundbergi from the type locality have failed, leaving the formalin-preserved holotype as the only specimen of that species.