Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps) > Smiliogastrinae
Etymology: Caecobarbus: Latin, caecus = blind + Latin, barbus = barbel (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: G Geerts was an engineer and railway director in the Belgian Congo. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Boulenger.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 0°S - 5°S
Africa: known only from some caves near Mbanza-Ngungu (lower Congo River basin), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 86866).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86866)
Blind fish which lives in caves (Ref. 86866), about (700)750-850 m above sea-level (Ref. 2801, 86866). Feeds on small crustaceans living in the caves and also on animals washed into the caves (Ref. 557), although this needs confirmation (Ref. 86866). Estimated longevity 9-14 years, but may exceed 15 years (Ref. 86866). Not closely related to any extant epigean species of the Congo region. Classified as `textbook and popular press fish' in Ref. 4537.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Expels eggs in a more or less haphazard fashion, the substrate on which the species spawns must have crevices and pores into which the adhesive eggs can roll and be hidden so to prevent predation by its parents or other cave inhabitants.
Vreven, E., A. Kimbembi ma Ibaka and S. Wamuini Lunkayilakio, 2011. The Congo blind barb: Mbanza-Ngungu’s albino cave fish. p.74-75. In W.R.T. Darwall, K.G. Smith, D.J. Allen, R.A. Holland, I.J. Harrison and E.G.E. Brooks (eds.). The diversity of life in African freshwaters: under water, under threat. An analysis of the status and distribution of freshwater species throughout mainland Africa. IUCN, Cambridge, United Kingdom and Gland, Switzerland, 348p. (Ref. 86866)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Vulnerable (VU) (B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)+2ab(i,ii,iii,iv)); Date assessed: 16 February 2009
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01175 (0.00447 - 0.03086), b=3.01 (2.78 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
