Common Name
Blind Cave Brotula
Year Described
Nalbant, 1981
Identification
Dorsal Fin: 67-80
Anal Fin: 54-70
Pectoral Fin: 13-17
Caudal Fin: 8
Vertebrae: 46-48 (11 precaudal)
Gill Rakers: 15-20
Body robust and elongate with an abruptly flattened (concave in profile) head above the mouth. Eye not visible (~0% SL). Anterior nostril a tube on snout. Posterior nostril a hole closer to eye. Supraorbital pores 4, infraorbital pores 6, mandibular pores 6, preopercular pores 2. Mouth large with an expanded maxilla posteriorly. Teeth present on premaxilla, vomer, and dentary in several rows. Palatine teeth present. Pseudobranchial filaments present. Dorsal fin origin over pectoral fins. Anal fin origin well behind dorsal origin. Dorsal and anal fin not connected to tail. Pectoral fin inserted on midbody. Pelvic fin a single filamentous ray. Body and head posterior to the orbit scaled. Occiput unscaled. Lateral line with 12-15 dorsal neuromasts and 24-27 lateral neuromasts.
Color
Whitish-pink to brown. Gill filaments pale.
Size
Specimens range from 57-103mm SL.
Habitat
Lives only in subterranean caverns in fresh to brackish water.
Range
Cuba: west-central region in Matanzas Province (Grieta Punta de Guana).
References
García-Machado, E., Hernández, D., García-Debrás, A., Chevalier-Monteagudo, P., Metcalfe, C., Bernatchez, L., & D. Casane. 2011. Molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of the Cuban cave-fishes of the genus Lucifuga: evidence for cryptic allopatric diversity. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 61(2), 470-483.
Hernández, D., Møller, P. R., Casane, D., & E. García-Machado. 2020. A new species of the cave-fish genus Lucifuga (Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae), from eastern Cuba. ZooKeys, 946, 17.
Nielsen, J.G. 2006. Revision of the Bahamian cave-fishes of the genus Lucifuga (Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae), with description of a new species from islands on the Little Bahama Bank. Zootaxa, 1223, 23-46.
Other Notes
García-Machado et al. (2011) showed three clades of Lucifuga in Cuba, with the L. dentata clade being the most diverse and containing L. dentata, L. simile, and two other lineages that are likely undescribed. The sister lineage to L. simile is one of the undescribed species (L. sp.2) and is found only in a cave near North Havana City. This clade seems to have palatine teeth while the L. subterranea clade lacks palatine teeth.