Subterranean Fishes of the World

6792

2023

Subterranean Biology

29-62

47

This study focused on the cave fauna of Costa Rica, which has remained relatively understudied despite the presence of more than 435 recorded natural caves and artificial subterranean sites. We collected and reviewed all available literature data on cave fauna in Costa Rica and created the first comprehensive review of the existing information. In addition, we report new records from field surveys conducted between 2015 and 2018. This study reported approximately 123 animal species, whereas the remaining records (n = 82) represented taxa that could not be identified at the species level. Data were collected from 127 locations throughout the country, with new cave fauna records from 41 sites. Notably, we reported the first occurrence of the true bug Amnestus subferrugineus (Westwood 1837) within Costa Rican caves, which represents an addition to the country’s faunal inventory. As this study highlights the knowledge gaps in the subterranean fauna, it will serve as an important stepping stone for future research and conservation efforts related to caves in Costa Rica. Two species of Costa Rican fish (Actinopterygii) display adaptations to cave life. These species are the three-barbed catfish from the Rhamdia genus and the characid Mexican tetra (Psalidodon fasciatus (De Filippi, 1853)). Pale-colored individuals of the catfish species Rhamdia guatemalensis (Günther, 1864) were observed in the Corredores and Bananal cave systems as well as in other adjacent caves (Fig. 6). Furthermore, pale-colored individuals of the same genus have been reported in an artificial tunnel near Arenal volcano. The Mexican tetra, also known as the blind cave fish, was studied in a karstic spring in Guanacaste. Livebearing fishes from the Brachyrhaphis genus, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)), and various unidentified characids (Characidae), cyprinids (Cyprinidae), and catfish (Heptapteridae) were reported from caves and springs (Table 2, Suppl. material 1).

1

Buenavad-González, M.A., López-Vila, J.M., Torres-Vázquez, D., Hernández-Ávila, S.G., Zárate-Gálvez, K. and Arroyave, J. (2023)
Deleva, S., Ulloa, A., Oliveira, H.F.M., Simov, N., Didonna, F. and Chaverri, G. (2023)
Arroyave, J., Angulo, A., Hernández-Ávila, S.G., Buenavad-González, M.A., Rojas-Rodríguez.. P., Deleva, S., Ulloa, A., Picq, S., and McMahan, C.D. (2024)