Teleostei (teleosts) >
Characiformes (Characins) >
Characidae (Characins; tetras) > Stethaprioninae
Etymology: Astyanax: The name of Astyanax, Hector´s son in the Greek mythology (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Astyanax was the son of Hector in Greek mythology. See Homer’s Iliad for details. The reasoning for its use for a genus of characins is not explained. C Basil Jordan of the Texas Aquaria Fish Company, Dallas, was an aquarium fish dealer who received 75 of the 100 specimens of the Mexican Blind Cave Tetras collected by the San Luis Potosi expedition (1936). [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on authors: Hubbs & Innes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 7.8; dH range: ? - 30; non-migratory. Tropical; 20°C - 25°C (Ref. 1672); 25°N - 21°N
North America: Mexico.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. )
A blind cave fish that recently evolved from the surface form Astyanax mexicanus. A length estimate for this species is 10 cm (Glenn Owens, pers.comm. 2009).
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.
Proudlove, G.S., 1997. A synopsis of the hypogean fishes of the world. p. 351-354. In Proceedings of the 12th International Congress of Speleology, La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. vol. 3. (Ref. 27297)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01096 (0.00493 - 0.02437), b=3.10 (2.93 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.9 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
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).