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Subterranean life: Behavior, metabolic, and some other adaptations of Astyanax cavefish
Author(s) -
Maldonado Ernesto,
RangelHuerta Emma,
RodriguezSalazar Elizabeth,
PereidaJaramillo Elizabeth,
MartínezTorres Ataulfo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of experimental zoology part b: molecular and developmental evolution
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1552-5015
pISSN - 1552-5007
DOI - 10.1002/jez.b.22948
Subject(s) - biology , cave , ecology , zoology , fish <actinopterygii> , evolutionary biology , fishery
The ability of fishes to adapt to any aquatic environment seems limitless. It is enthralling how new species keep appearing at the deep sea or in subterranean environments. There are close to 230 known species of cavefishes, still today the best‐known cavefish is Astyanax mexicanus , a Characid that has become a model organism, and has been studied and scrutinized since 1936. There are two morphotypes for A. mexicanus , a surface fish and a cavefish. The surface fish lives in central and northeastern Mexico and south of the United States, while the cavefish is endemic to the “Sierra del Abra‐Tanchipa region” in northeast Mexico. The extensive genetic and genomic analysis depicts a complex origin for Astyanax cavefish, with multiple cave invasions and persistent gene flow among cave populations. The surface founder population prevails in the same region where the caves are. In this review, we focus on both morphotype's main morphological and physiological differences, but mainly in recent discoveries about behavioral and metabolic adaptations for subterranean life. These traits may not be as obvious as the troglomorphic characteristics, but are key to understand how Astyanax cavefish thrives in this environment of perpetual darkness.