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Satan eurystomus Hubbs & Bailey, 1947

Image contributors to this species:

Garold W. Sneegas (1) Chad Thomas (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Habitat: Occurs in subterranean waters and is threatened by groundwater pollution. Below the city of San Antonio Texas lies a vast aquifer known as the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer. Two rare and unusual catfish reside in the aquifer, Satan eurystomus, the widemouth blindcat and Trogloganis pattersoni the toothless blindcat. They are the only known troglobitic catfish in the United States. The only specimens of both species ever collected have come from deep (1,200' to 1,500') artesian wells within the city of San Antonio itself and parts of southern Bexar County. The Balcones Fault Zone is a complex system of limestone strata (Edwards Limestone Formation) that has been fractured and eroded over time by geological forces. Water travels not only through numerous cracks and fissures but also through massive underground caverns, streams and rivers. The limestone strata slopes towards the Gulf of Mexico. In northern Bexar County the limestone formation is exposed on the surface. In the southern part of the county the formation is 3,000 feet underground. San Antonio's water supply comes from an area of the aquifer known as San Antonio Pool and is considered the "Good Water" zone. South of the Balcones Fault Zone lies the Gulf Coastal Plain which contains anaerobic, saline and sulfurous groundwater known as the "Bad Water" zone. Water from both zones meet and mix in a line that roughly parallels Interstate Highway 35. Blindcats reside along this narrow mixing zone and may be dependant on the unique environment created at the mixing point of these two zones. Etymolgy: The genus name Satan: The prince of darkness. Hube liked to name cave fishes with diabolic names based on the idea of hell being underground. The specific name eurystomus: Wide-mouthed, from eurýs, wide or broad, and stóma, mouth, referring to its wider mouth compared with the sympatric Trogloglanis pattersoni.

Common Name:

Widemouth blindcat

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Ictaluridae

Distribution:

North America: 5 artesian wells penetrating San Antonio Pool of Edwards Aquifer in and near San Antonio, Bexar County in Texas, USA (29°30'N,98°30'W).

Size:

13.0cm. (5¼ins)

Temp:

p.H.

IUCN Red List

This species is listed as Vulnerable because it is represented by only one or a few locations. Trend is unknown. The species is vulnerable to groundwater depletion: if overpumping of the aquifer occurs, this could drive the species to Extinct or Critically Endangered in a short time frame (needs updating IUCN 2014).

Reference:

Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (05/2012).
IUCN 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
ScotCat Article: Garold W. Sneegas & Dean A. Hendrickson, Ph.D., Extreme Catfish.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Thomas, C., T.H. Bonner and B.G. Whiteside, 2007 Freshwater fishes of Texas: a field guide. (1st ed.).

Family: Ictaluridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Satan eurystomus

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