''Uegitglanis zammaranoi'' is the only

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

(

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Siluriformes) in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Uegitglanis'' of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Clariidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, where it only occurs in caves near the Jubba and the

Shebelle River The Shebelle River ( Oromo: Laga Shabeellee, , , ) also known historically as the Nile of Mogadishu, begins in the 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 ...

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'' and ''

Phreatichthys andruzzii ''Garra andruzzii'', a species of cyprinid fish, formerly the only species of the genus ''Phreatichthys'', and is endemic to Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The ...

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

References

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