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Garold W. Sneegas (1) University of Texas at Austin (1)

Habitat: Occurs in subterranean waters and is threatened by groundwater pollution. Cited in the IUCN Red List Status of 2011 as vulnerable. Below the city of San Antonio Texas lies a vast aquifer known as the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer. Two rare and unusual catfish reside in the aquifer, Satan eurystomus, the widemouth blindcat and Trogloglanis pattersoni, the toothless blindcat. They are the only known troglobitic catfish in the United States. The only specimens of both species ever collected have come from deep (1,200' to 1,500') artesian wells within the city of San Antonio itself and parts of southern Bexar County. The Balcones Fault Zone is a complex system of limestone strata (Edwards Limestone Formation) that has been fractured and eroded over time by geological forces. Water travels not only through numerous cracks and fissures but also through massive underground caverns, streams and rivers. The limestone strata slopes towards the Gulf of Mexico. In northern Bexar County the limestone formation is exposed on the surface. In the southern part of the county the formation is 3,000 feet underground. San Antonio's water supply comes from an area of the aquifer known as San Antonio Pool and is considered the "Good Water" zone. South of the Balcones Fault Zone lies the Gulf Coastal Plain which contains anaerobic, saline and sulfurous groundwater known as the "Bad Water" zone. Water from both zones meet and mix in a line that roughly parallels Interstate Highway 35. Blindcats reside along this narrow mixing zone and may be dependant on the unique environment created at the mixing point of these two zones. Remarks: Cited in the IUCN Red List Status of 2011 as vulnerable.

Toothless blindcat

None

Ictaluridae

North America: 5 artesian wells penetrating San Antonio Pool of Edwards Aquifer in and near San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas in the USA (29°30'N,98°30'W).

10cm. (4ins)

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Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (05/2012).
Hendrickson D A, Cohen A E, Casarez M J (2021). University of Texas, Biodiversity Center, Ichthyology Collection (TNHCi). Version 5.137. University of Texas at Austin, Biodiversity Collections.
IUCN 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
ScotCat Article: Garold W. Sneegas & Dean A. Hendrickson, Ph.D., Extreme Catfish.