Gejiu Blind Loach（Triplophysa gejiuensis）

Habitat: it lives in underground caves 400m from the ground surface. Its surrounding environment is quite dark and the normal water temperature is about 17℃. The water has a little alkali content and the water stream is quite rapid and clear. The water environment it lives in is rather narrow; actually, it lives in small water ponds of only 1 to 2 square meters.

Feeding habits: it explores planktons in water; it swallows up aquatic insects and planktons depending on its well-developed cirrus.

Features: the fish is small, but its body is relatively long. Its body exposes to the outside and it has no scales. Gejiu blind loach has no eyes. When it is fresh or alive, its body looks whitish and semi-transparent. People can see its light red spine from outside its body. The covers of its gills look red and all its fins are transparent. Its well-developed cirrus stretches out radioactively. Its snout pedals stand up as if it will monitor the situation around it in water. Gejiu blind loach is quite sensitive to vibrations around it. As soon as it feels the water surface, it will flee away immediately. Because it lives in underground water, its eyes have degenerated and the have no reactions to light. That's why it is commonly called "blindfish".

Category: Pisces, Cypriniformes, Cobitidae, Nemachilinae

Distribution: an endemic Chinese specie and is only distributed in the underground river of Gejiu, Yunnan.

Protection level: it is listed as Class II provincial protection animal of Yunnan.