Jordan and Evcimann. — Fishes of North America. 2501 



955. LUCIFUGA, Poey. 

 (Cuban Blindfish.) 



Lueifugay Poey, Memorias, ii, 95, 1860 (suhterranem). 



Body moderately elongate, tran.sluceut pinkish, covered with minute 

 scales. Eye rudimentary, covered by the skin; bauds of villiform teeth 

 in the jaws and vomer, none on the palatines; nostrils 2 on each side; no 

 barbels; head with small tactile cirri; no spines on head; gills 4; no 

 pseudobrauchiii- ; gill opening large, extending forward nearly to the sym- 

 physis, the gill membranes nut united; branch iostegals 7 or 8; vertical 

 tins low, united around the tail ; veutrals each reduced to a short thin fila- 

 ment; male with an anal papilla, no pyloric cajca; air bladder large, 

 rounded behind, joined to the base of the skull. Cave streams of Cuba; 

 the eyes having undergone a degeneration similar to that seen in Ambly- 

 opsts. These tishes have no relation to the blind cave fishes of North 

 America, but are derived from marine types, their ancestors being evi- 

 dently allies of Ogilhia and Broiula. It is known that blindfishes are 

 found also in caves of the islands of Jamaica, but no specimens have been 

 seen by naturalists, {lux, light; fugo, I tlee.) 



2872. LUCIFUGA SUBTERBAIVEUS, Poey. 



(Fez Ciego.) 



Head 2f; depth 3|. Branchlostegals 7. D.70; A. 70; P. 51; V. 1; C. 9. 

 Vertebras 11 -f 36=47. Body elongate, compressed, tapering, pointed; 

 head low at nape, much depressed anteriorly, broad, covered with soft, 

 white, wrinkled skin, with microscopic cirri, having firm and conical 

 tubes; no barbels on lips or chin; skin of head with many pores; scales 

 not ciliate, present on body and top oi head and on opercles; lateral line 

 median, marked by a series of microscopic cirri like those on head, these 

 wanting posteriorly ; eyes wanting; nasal openings double; mouth large; 

 lower jaw shorter; lips fleshy; maxillary broad at tip, | length of head; 

 teeth in jaws very short and sharp, in a band; vomerine teeth larger; no 

 palatine teeth ; pharyngeal teeth slender ; tongue smooth ; gill oi)euings 

 large; males with an anal papilla; fin rays simple, flexible, jointed but not 

 branched ; dorsal beginning at a point about | nearer tip of snout than 

 tip of caudal; anal smaller, beginning farther back, the 2 fins fully joined 

 to the pointed caudal; pectoral fin short, falcate, nearly ^ head; ventral 

 in front of pectoral, a slender ray not \ length of maxillary. Color trans- 

 parent rosy, head reddish, becoming darker in alcohol. No pyloric caeca; 

 intestines short; air bladder large. Described from 12 specimens, the 

 longest about 4| inches ; found in caves of the jurisdiction of San Antonio, 

 in the southern part of Cuba. (Poey.) {suh, under; terra, earth.) 



■ Lucifuga suMeri-aneus, Poey, Memorias, n, 96, 1860, San Antonio, Cuba (Coll. D. Tran- 

 quilino) ; Sandalio de Noda (Coll. D. Juau Antonio Fabre) ; first coll. from Cajio Cave, 

 1831 (Noda) ; second. Cave at La Industria (Coll. Dubroca) ; third, Ashton Cave, San 

 Andreas (Coll. Fabre); fourth. Cave of the Dragon (Coll. Fabre); fifth, Cave at the 

 Castle of Concord (Coll. Layunta). 



