Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ophidiiformes (Cusk eels) >
Bythitidae (Livebearing brotulas)
Etymology: Lucifuga: Latin, lux = light + latin, fugere = to escape, to avoid, to run away from (Ref. 45335); lucayana: Named for its type locality, Lucayan Caverns, graveyard of the Lucayan Indians who inhabited the Bahamas for 2000 years and were eliminated by the European invaders.
More on authors: Møller, Schwarzhans, Iliffe & Nielsen.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 12 - 20 m (Ref. 57878). Subtropical
Distribution
Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri
Western Atlantic: Caribbean, Bahamas.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.9 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 84 - 91; Anal soft rays: 63 - 69; Vertebrae: 50 - 52. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: Vertebrae 12-13+37-39=50-52, dorsal fin rays 84-91, anal fin rays 63-69, pectoral fin rays 17-18, caudal fin rays 10; head profile above eye strongly depressed, scales on occiput, eyes present (0.9-1.0 % SL); palatine teeth absent; color uniformly light brown, long gill-rakers 3, pale (Ref. 57878).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Found in an anchialine cave which is connected to the sea via a submerged passage which opens into a tidal saltwater creek. The upper about 14 m in the cave consists of freshwater (22 °C), separated from a lower, slightly warmer (23-25 °C), salty layer by a distinct halocline. The holotype was taken in a depth of 12 m, which must then most likely to be freshwater; some where collected from one or two inland sink holes (Ref. 57878).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Møller, P.R., W. Schwarzhans, T.M. Iliffe and J.G. Nielsen, 2006. Revision of the Bahamian cave-fishes of the genus Lucifuga (Ophidiiformes, Bythitidae), with description of a new species from islands on the Little Bahama Bank. Zootaxa 1223:23-46. (Ref. 57878)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
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