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| Ophisternon candidum (Mees, 1962) in Moore, Humphreys & Foster, 2018. DOI: 10.1071/MF18006 |
Abstract
The enigmatic blind cave eel Ophisternon candidum is one of Australia’s least known fishes and is one of only three vertebrates in Australia with an entirely subterranean existence. For more than half a century, O. candidum was thought to be restricted to some 100 km of coastal cave systems in north-western Australia. Herein we report on two new populations, each separated by hundreds of kilometres, and provide the first complete list of all known records of subterranean Ophisternon in Western Australia. Using morphological and molecular data, we show that these populations are conspecific, with one population showing evidence of genetic differentiation. Geological and biogeographic explanations are explored, along with conservation considerations. All populations face actual and potential threats, especially from mining activities, and there is a need for management and conservation strategies specific to each population.
Keywords: anchialine, Barrow Island, biogeography, Cape Range, conservation, genetics, Pilbara.
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| Ophisternon candidum Western Australian Museum (WAM) P.34487-001 (364-mm total length) photographed live in an aquarium. |
Glenn I. Moore, William F. Humphreys and Ralph Foster. 2018. New Populations of the Rare Subterranean Blind Cave Eel Ophisternon candidum (Synbranchidae) reveal Recent Historical Connections throughout north-western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research. DOI: 10.1071/MF18006
Abstract: The rare blind cave eel Ophisternon candidum is restricted to a few populations and was originally described on the basis of only two specimens. The holotype and paratype were re-examined to provide revised and additional morphometrics. Nine more recently collected specimens, across a range of sizes, were also examined to provide an updated and expanded description of morphometrics for the species. Sensory head pores were identified and described for the first time in this species and a series of fresh colour photographs of both juvenile and adult specimens are provided suggesting ontogenetic ocular degeneration and vascularisation that may have evolved in response to a life in darkness.
Keywords: Anchialine, Pilbara, X-ray, Head pores, Anommatophasma
Glenn I. Moore. 2018. New morphological data and live photographs of the rare subterranean blind cave eel Ophisternon candidum (Synbranchidae) from north-western Australia. Ichthyological Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10228-018-0647-2