Two rare, blind catfish found last year in a South Texas underwater cave have been retrieved and moved to the San Antonio Zoo.
The University of Texas in Austin on Friday announced discovery of the eyeless catfish, called Mexican blindcats. The fish were collected last month from a limestone cave at the Amistad National Recreation Area near Del Rio.
Dean Hendrickson is curator of ichthyology (ihk-thee-AHL'-uh-jee) at UT and a Mexican blindcats expert. He's documented his efforts since 1997 in locating the fish in Mexico. Hendrickson says he believes it's the first time a specimen has been found in the U.S.
The endangered fish are about 3-inches long and previously listed as only found in Mexico.
Officials had no timetable on when the Mexican blindcats would be displayed in San Antonio.
