Somalian Cave Fish

Hi everybody! Today, I will be sharing on the news article about the Somalian Cave Fish.

Somalian cave fish have been cut off from the sun for up to 2.6 million years. Adapting to life in the dark has not only caused the fish’s eyes, but as well as its scales and skin coloring to disappear.

What is most extraordinary is that the environment has caused the fish to also alter its own clock.

This study is indeed important as it shows the amazing transformation of living things, in this case, of a fish.

The Somalian Cave Fish's clock had not been broken despite living in the dark for 2.6 million years, but has instead been able to alter the clock to suit its own needs.



The Somalian Cave Fish follows a 47 hour cycle, based on feeding time and not the amount of sunlight.

Most animals, plants and some kinds of bacteria follow the sun in setting their own daily clocks.

These biological, or circadian, clocks help govern sleeping, waking and feeding times, the rise and fall of blood pressure and other daily rhythms.

Generally, circadian clocks follow an approximately 24-hour cycle and are reset largely by sunlight. When human’s circadian clocks aren’t set correctly, jet lag and even long-term health problems can result.

That shows that a living thing's clock is indeed highly adaptable, and would be able to adapt to many different situations.

For a human, jet lag might occur if his/her clock was disturbed, but with this study, it shows that no permanent illness might occur, as in the case of the fish.

If one day the sun goes out, and the planet Earth becomes a place of darkness, living things might just be able to adapt to it....

Link of News Article - http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/334056/description/In_the_dark%2C_cave_fish_follows_its_own_rhythm