| Popis: |
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. |
