Northern cavefish

The northern cavefish, also known as the northern blindfish (Amblyopsis spelaea), is a remarkable creature native to the caves of Kentucky and southern Indiana. Unfortunately, it is a threatened species in the U.S., and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as near threatened.

In 2013, a study revealed that what was previously considered a single species actually comprises two distinct evolutionary lineages. Consequently, a 2014 paper published in the journal ZooKeys introduced a new name for the northern Indiana population: Amblyopsis hoosieri. Meanwhile, the southern population retained the original name, Amblyopsis spelaea. Notably, neither of these species is found beyond the White River, which flows east to west just south of Bedford, Indiana.