''Ancistrus galani'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs only in Los Laureles Cave, at an elevation of above sea level, in the

Socuy River Socuy River is a river of northern Venezuela. It flows into the Caribbean Sea. See also *List of rivers of Venezuela References

*Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993. Rivers of Venezuela {{Venezuela-river-stub ...

basin, which is part of the

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo; Anu: Coquivacoa) is a lagoon in northwestern Venezuela, the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains. The fault in the northern se ...

drainage system in the state of Zulia in Venezuela. The species reaches SL and was named after Carlos Galan, a Venezuelan speleologist. ''A. galani'' differs from most '' Ancistrus'' species (except for other cave-dwelling species like '' A. cryptophthalmus'' or '' A. formoso'') in having an unpigmented body, atrophied or entirely absent eyes, and highly reduced ocular orbits, which are all thought to be adaptations to its dark subterranean habitat and stygobitic lifestyle.

References

galani Galani is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arianthe Galani (born 1940), actress * Dimitra Galani (born 1952), Greek singer and composer See also * Angel wings Angel wings are a traditional sweet crisp pastry made out of ...

Fish described in 1994 Fish of Venezuela Cave fish {{Hypostominae-stub