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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaChordataVertebrataActinopterygiiPercopsiformesAmblyopsidaeTyphlichthys

Southern Cavefish
Typhlichthys subterraneus Girard, 1859

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Percopsiformes
Family Amblyopsidae
Genus Typhlichthys
Species Typhlichthys subterraneus Girard, 1859

Synonyms

Typhlichthys wyandotte Eigenmann, 1905
Typhlichthys eigenmanni Charlton, 1933
Typhlichthys osborni Eigenmann, 1905

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygobiont
Realm
Aquatic
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic
Maximum body length
70 mm

Distribution

Type locality

well near Bowling Green, Warren Co., KY

Range

Known from four states across two karst regions.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee

Counties

County-level records have not been compiled for this taxon. Distribution is recorded at state and karst-region level.

Karst regions

Appalachians, Interior Low Plateau

Genetics

Molecular resources

MarkerMoleculeSequences LengthExemplar
other unknown 467 543-17861 bp PZ091431.1
ND mitochondrial 129 429-1047 bp PZ054557.1
RAG1 nuclear 114 1431-1433 bp JN592231.1
genome nuclear 2 GCA_027564835.1
16S mitochondrial 2 535-583 bp JX121825.1
COI mitochondrial 1 652-652 bp HQ557151.1
H3 nuclear 1 333-333 bp JX121713.1

716 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.

Download all 716 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.

Nuclear genome
Available

Specimens

Type material

Syntype ×4
California Academy of Sciences
Type
USNM 8563 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Type ×3
Yale Peabody Museum

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
Auburn University Museum of Natural History 46
Alabama Museum of Natural History 33
University of Texas Biodiversity Center 16
Yale Peabody Museum 15
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 14
Field Museum of Natural History 12
and 15 other collections 54

190 cataloged lots in 21 collections. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.

Download all 190 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

NT Near Threatened

EXEWCRENVUNT▲LC

Assessed in 2014.

NatureServe

G4 Apparently Secure

G1G2G3G4▲G5

Global rank last reviewed 27 September 2010.

Subnational ranks

Alabama
S3 Vulnerable
Arkansas
S1 Critically Imperiled
Georgia
S1 Critically Imperiled
Indiana
SX Presumed Extirpated
Kentucky
S2S3 Imperiled to Vulnerable
Tennessee
s3 Vulnerable

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Threats

  • Agriculture - Crops
  • Agriculture - Livestock
  • Agriculture - Logging
  • Mining & Quarrying
  • Recreational/Commerical Cave Activities
  • Dams & Water Extraction
  • Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
  • Pollution - Commercial/Industrial
  • Pollution - Agricultural & Forestry

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
7DB8M
GBIF
2401721
ITIS
164399
iNaturalist
114704
NCBI Taxonomy
940470

How to cite this account

Typhlichthys subterraneus Girard, 1859. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1358. https://cavebiology.org/species/typhlichthys-subterraneus/ (accessed 3 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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