Ituglanis mambai
Overview
A detailed profile for this species is sourced from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as assessments become available.
Ituglanis mambai faces severe threats from habitat degradation in its extremely limited range within Brazilian cave systems. The species is vulnerable to groundwater pollution from agricultural runoff and urban development, which can alter the delicate chemical balance of its subterranean environment. Mining activities and quarrying operations pose additional risks through physical habitat destruction and hydrological disruption of the cave networks this endemic catfish depends upon.
Habitat
This species inhabits underground cave systems and associated subterranean waters in Brazil's karst regions. It occupies the phreatic zone of limestone caves where it depends on stable groundwater conditions and the specialized invertebrate communities that form the base of cave food webs.