-Fun fact: these fish make great house pets; if you like what you see, check out a tank bred tetra shop HERE!

-Although they cannot see, these fish can detect light by using their pineal gland! In fish the Pineal Gland are sometimes used the same way the retina in the eye is used. For fish that are blind, like the A. jordani, the photoreceptors of the pinealocytes have similarities with the photoreceptor that are found in the retina of the eye. Along with that, the pineal gland is also in charge of releasing certain hormones such as Melatonin. Although the gland is able to detect light, it differs from the retina by having a longer recovery time and also a longer reception time for perception (Kulczykowska, 1999).

Figure 1. Anatomy of fish brain; for specific to website note pineal stalk where the pineal gland resides.

-This pigment lacking fish species is very peculiar, seeing as its genus "Astyanax" actually gets its origen from an ancient greek myth. The genus name relates to the story of Hector in the Iliad by Homer, referring to his son, Astyanax, whom was renamed by the people of troy because "astyanax" means high king, which denotes power. Seeing as how this genus of fish does not reside high up in the food web, it is somewhat confusing as to why it was named the way it was.

-Blind cave fish will lay about 100 eggs at a time!

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Want to see other organisms created by UWL students:
Check out MultipleOrganisms.net!