Mexican Blindcat Expedition, March 1998

Mexican Blindcat Expedition

The Mexican Blindcat, Prietella phreatophila Carranza 1954 (Ictaluridae), Spring 1998 International Scientific Expedition to Coahuila and Tamaulipas, Mexico

During mid-March of 1998, an expedition to northern Mexico was conducted. Participating in the expedition were two college students from Ciudad Victoria, Mexico cave divers from Galveston, Texas, USA and Monrovia, California, USA and several researchers: Dr. Thomas Iliffe (Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, Texas, USA), Dr. Dean Hendrickson (Texas Natural History Collections, Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA); Jean Krejca (Zoology Department, University of Texas, Austin, USA); and Dr. Steve Taylor (Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA). The project has been supported by funding from the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science (DAH) and a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship (JKK). Research focused on obtaining data to elucidate details of the biogeography, ecology and behavior of the stygobitic/phreatobitic Mexican Blindcat, Prietella phreatophila Carranza 1954 (Ictaluridae), and associated fauna. Further information about this fish and photographs are available at theTexas Natural History Collections web site.

For the March 1998 expedition, we conducted field studies at a number of sites that had been identified as potential localities for the Mexican Blindcat. Data were collected on associated fauna, ecology, distribution, behavior, hydrology, geology and water chemistry. The study sites included springs, wells, caves, and one mine. Suitable cave sites typically contained pits leading to subterranean aquifers. Technical ropes techniques and certified cave divers form critical components in the examination of these sites. Some of the sites had not been previously explored. To increase our understanding of the habitats of P. phreatophila, cave sites were documented with inventories of vertebrates and invertebrates, photography, and mapping.

Here's a map showing the approximate location of the areas (large black dots) where field work was done during the March 1998 expedition.


This stygobitic cirolanid isopod was collected by cave divers during the expedition. Photo (c) Steve Taylor 1998.




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This page is maintained by Steve Taylor. Please email sjtaylor@inhs.uiuc.edu with comments and corrections. Created 25 March 1998, last modified 22 February 2006.