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UID:pretalx-nss-convention-2026-JGHNBQ@talks.caving.dev
DTSTART;TZID=EST:20260708T105000
DTEND;TZID=EST:20260708T111000
DESCRIPTION:Subterranean ecosystems host highly specialized and often crypt
 ic biodiversity\, yet even intensively studied landscapes may conceal deep
 ly divergent vertebrate lineages. Here we describe Demogorgonichthys arcan
 us gen. et sp. nov.\, a new genus and species of cave-obligate fish discov
 ered in Bobcat Cave\, a long-monitored karst system on Redstone Arsenal in
  northern Alabama\, USA.\n\nPhylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial n
 d2\, complete mitochondrial genomes\, and the nuclear gene rhodopsin place
  D. arcanus within Amblyopsidae but reveal deep divergence from all descri
 bed genera\, including extensive lineage-specific degeneration of a vision
 -related gene. Notably\, D. arcanus occurs in syntopy with the Southern Ca
 vefish (Typhlichthys subterraneus) despite lacking a close phylogenetic re
 lationship\, providing evidence for multiple independent evolutionary orig
 ins of cave adaptation within a single groundwater system.\n\nThis discove
 ry highlights persistent detection bias in groundwater ecosystems and demo
 nstrates that cryptic vertebrate diversity can persist even in well-charac
 terized environments. Extreme endemism and restriction to a single cave–
 aquifer system further underscore the vulnerability of subterranean biodiv
 ersity and the importance of integrating evolutionary and conservation per
 spectives.
DTSTAMP:20260826T232450Z
LOCATION:205
SUMMARY:A creature from the “Upside Down”: cryptic cave- fish diversity
  in a long-studied karst cave ecosystem - 
URL:https://talks.caving.dev/nss-convention-2026/talk/JGHNBQ/
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