''Uegitglanis zammaranoi'' is the only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

( order Siluriformes) in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Uegitglanis'' of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Clariidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, where it only occurs in caves near the

Jubba Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afr ...

and the

Shebelle River The Shebelle River ( so, Webi Shabeelle, ar, نهر شبيلي, am, እደላ) begins in the Ethiopian Highlands, highlands of Ethiopia, and then flows southeast into Somalia towards Mogadishu. Near Mogadishu, it turns sharply southwest, where ...

s. This species grows to about 10.1 cm (4.0 in) in total length. ''U. zammaranoi'' is hypothesized to be the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to '' Heteropneustes'' and the remaining clariids. The problematic relationship of this species to the rest of the family is due to the lack of a labyrinth organ that characterizes the family. Two other cavefish species are in Somalia: the cyprinids ''

Barbopsis devecchi The Somalian blind barb (''Barbopsis devecchi'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Barbopsis''. This troglobitic fish is found only in Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈� ...

'' and ''

Phreatichthys andruzzii ''Phreatichthys andruzzii'', a species of cyprinid fish, is the only species of the genus ''Phreatichthys'', and is endemic to Somalia. This cave-adapted fish is whitish (not pigmented) and blind. It is considered to have evolved in the cave en ...

''.Romero, A., editor (2001). ''The Biology of Hypogean Fishes.'' Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes.

References

Uegitglanis Cave fish Fish of Somalia Endemic fauna of Somalia Fish described in 1923 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{catfish-stub