Newly discovered fish in Brazil already endangered

Brazilian scientists have found in the Gruta da Tarimba, a cave in Mambaí, Goiás, a new species of fish that live exclusively in subterranean environments. The discovery places Brazil second only to China, which has cataloged 40 cave-dwelling species. Brazil accounts for 22.

Named Ituglanis boticario, the fish is already facing extinction, “because it's fragile, its populations are small, it's endemic to cave systems, and gathers a number of [other] characteristics which pose a threat to it,” said on Tuesday (Feb 10) Maria Elina Bichuette, professor at the Federal University of São Carlos, in São Paulo. She is the coordinator of the environmental diagnosis study on Tarimba, which is expected to turn the area into a reserve. The finding is described in an article from the journal Brazilian Zoological Society.

Bichuette believes the importance of the discovery is even greater for that specific region of Goiás—an area with a particularly rich diversity of underground fish, invaluable to the country and all of South America. “There, in that 60-km² area—that's where we have eight cave-dwelling fishes. This is of the utmost relevance. It brings the region into focus in South America.”

According to the professor, cattle ranching is the biggest threat to the species, as the region surrounding the caves has been completely taken over by the expansion of agriculture, especially ranching, a major activity in that part of the state. The soil on the those farms is less capable of draining water into the caves, which has reduced the amount of food in them. Another menace is cattle urine, which raises the concentration of urea and ammonia in the water.

The scholar also mentioned that the fish species may help the government create public policies and finance the creation of a conservation unit, like the one proposed by researchers from the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) in November, 2014.

Bichuette went on to say that there are enough data available to start taking action to protect some of the local habitats—not least because there are no conservation units nearby, she points out. The closest reserve, the Serra Ronca State Park, is located 70km away.

According to the professor, the fish plays a key biological role in the cave as the predator atop the food chain. “It's a carnivore that feeds on invertebrate animals like larvae and beetles. Removing it from the cave would bring about a huge imbalance, because the fish contributes to controlling the population of several species,” she notes. Bichuette further explains that, in the cave where it was found, the fish was the sovereign ruler. “There are no other types of fish there; that's why the whole ecosystem would be in danger and may be lost if the Ituglanis isn't protected.”

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira