Fascinating Study Uncovers How Blind Cavefish Finds Ways in the Dark

New research investigated how blind cavefish amazingly move and find their way in the dark after studying the collected samples of 26 species of the said fish.

The research was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society and is available on the Phys.org website.

The study consists of researchers from China, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Cavefishes are known to be small, living in underground streams or ponds.

According to Britannica, cavefish have small and non-functional eyes. The fish organs are said to be sensitive to touch, which helps them feel and travel in darker areas in oceans that they cannot see.

The report also showed that the small cave fishes could grow about four inches or 10cm. In the United States, cavefish can be found in dark limestone caves and freshwaters.

Cavefish may have adapted to darkness which helped them evolve, mutate, and thrive. In other studies, researchers also looked into cavefish to investigate human blindness.

Moreover, the research explained how cavefish successfully adapted to vibration frequency to find their food sources.

Finding the way in the dark

(Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

According to the article, the researchers unveiled how blind cavefish would move in the dark. They collected samples of 26 blind cave fish species, looking at the anatomy of neuromasts.

The fish could be found in streams, ponds, and waters worldwide, noting that eye loss is common.

The findings said blind fish or ones who lost their eyes showed more advanced neuromasts, noting that fishes have neuromasts on the side of the head.

Neuromasts, consisting of hair cells, are significant in tracking and detecting water movement for aquatic animals.

Moreover, the researchers tested the cavefish in a well-lit fish tank to better observe their findings. Amazingly, they observed that the said fish moved their ways by lightly using the side of their heads with more advanced neuromast.

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Inside the tank, the fish maintained a close distance.

The researchers said that the fish used their sensory organs to d find their ways, like humans using their hands to feel their surroundings.

In 2010, researchers studied how researchers adapt to darkness, showing behavioral and potential genetic changes helping cavefish to survive underground in an extreme environment.

The study was published in Current Biology.

According to the study, cavefish, under extreme conditions, evolved their behavioral and genetic traits to survive in the water (by finding food) despite losing their eyes or vision.

With the need to thrive in the environment, researchers noted that it resulted from natural selection.

Large cavefish

The National Geographic said scientists discovered a large cavefish in an underground chamber in India.

The size amazed the scientists as the cavefish was nearly a foot and a half in terms of length, and it was said to be ten times more than any known species of cavefish.

The scientists said the fish might have fed on the vegetation washed by underground rain, raising questions on how the fish reached a larger size than usual.