Southern Cave Fish

Typhlichthys subterraneus

Classification

Conservation Status

  • Southern Cave Fish are blind, solitary fish that are found in subterranean cave streams, wells, and spring outlets in the Cumberland River Basin. 
  • The fish lack eyes. 
  • Food is scarce in subterranean streams, but a depressed metabolic rate enables the southern cave fish to go without food for extended periods. 
  • A variety of factors have caused a decline in the range and population of the species. Contaminants dumped into sinkholes, agricultural chemical use, reservoir flooding, the lowering of water tables, and cave vandalism all degrade the cave fish habitat.