Subterranean Fishes of the World

Country

Types

The status of the type specimens for this species, and for Lucifuga dentata, the second and third described subterranean fishes, is not known with any degree of certainty. The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, Fricke and van der Laan 2018) says: "Poey specimens: ZMB 6341 (1)" without stating the type status of this specimen. Romero (2007) does not mention ZMB 6341, presumably because he was not aware of it, and suggests that one of either USNM 00001739 (collected by Poey, date unknown) or MNHN A-5234 (collector unknown, date unknown, sent to Valenciennes in Paris probably 1865) is the holotype or in the type series.

The type catalogue of Faloh-Gandarilla et al. 2016, presumably the most reliable source in this matter, says that ZMB 6341 is a single syntype, probably because Poey (1858) did not specifically mention the single type specimen which, if he had done so, would have been the holotype.

This species is the type species by monotypy of the cave restricted genus Lucifuga.

Distribution

Type locality: Cueva de Cajio, potrero de Torres, dos leguas, (c. 8.5 km), Sur de Guira de Melena, Habana province, Cuba. Other sites from which this species has been collected are given by Eigenmann (1909), Taboada (1974) and Garcia Debras, Gonzalez and Yager (1999) (22^o-23^oN, 80^o-84^oW).

Known distribution of Lucifuga subterranea. * type locailty.

Habitat

Inhabits anchialine caves.

Systematics

A general note on the systematics and distribution of the genus Lucifuga

The genus Lucifuga contains eight nominal species:

The first question is how L. inopinata fits in to the phylogeography of the genus. This is not a question that will receive an answer anytime soon as it is currently known only from its female holotype. Since it requires knowledge of the intromitent organ of a male to fully confirm the generic position it may be that inopinata is not in fact Lucifuga and may be Calamopteryx (Cohen and McCosker 1998). Assuming that it is Lucifuga the following scenario may explain the distributiional anomaly. It is found about as far south west of the Isthmus of Panama as the rest of the species are found to the north east of it. Presumably the last common ancestor of all of the species was distributed in the sea in this area before the close of the isthmus. After this event L. inopinata remained in the sea while one or more migrations into caves took place in the Caribbean. Until the studies of Moller et al. (2006) all Bahamian species on both main banks were placed in L. spelaeotes but it was no surpsrise to see that the banks each have their own species. Molecular studies of the Cuban species by Hernandez (2005), Lara et al. (2010), Garcia- Machado et al. (2011) and Hernandez et al. (2016) have considerably altered understanding of the situation in Cuba. These studies strongly suggest that there are at least eight phylogentic groups in Cuba: the nominal species subterranea, dentata, simile and holguinensis (raised from subspecific to specific status), and four currently unnamed taxa. L. holguinensis is sister to unnamed species 4 and both of these are sister to 3. These thre groups are all the sister all other species. L. terresinarum groups strongly with L. subterranea and is clearly it synonym. L. subterranea is sister to dentata, simile and unnamed species 1 and 2. simile and 2 form a monophyletic group as do dentata and 1 and each of these are sisters.

Biological Notes

Fishes in the genus Lucifuga are parasitised by Genarchella isabellae (Trematoda: Derogenidae) and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) lucifugae (Nematoda: Camallanidae) (Coy Otero Garcia and Ventosa 1997, Garcia, Coy Otero and Ventosa 1999).

Museum Holdings

Romero (2007) provides the following list of museum specimens and in addition to these

there is one further specimen, the single syntype,  ZMB 6341 (Faloh-Gandarilla et al. 2016:10).