Garra cavernicola

Common name: Al-Hoota garra.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Hajar Mountains by: ○ eye reduced and invisible externally / ○ whitish or pink, without colour pattern. Size up to 80 mm SL.

Distribution . Oman: Al-Hoota cave system.

Habitat. Subterranean waters.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. VU; known from a very small area. The population is affected by climate change.

Remarks. This species is genetically very closely related to neighboring surface-dwelling populations of G. longipinnis and has been treated as a ‘form’ of G. longipinnis . Despite being very young, this evolutionary lineage shows strong and distinct evolutionary trajectories and represents a different species under the Evolutionary Species Concept. A second subterranean population may occur near the town of Al Hamra and may represent an undescribed species.

Further reading. Banister 1984 (finding of cave Garra); Kruckenhauser et al. 2011; Kirchner et al. 2020 (Omani cave Garra); Hamidan et al. 2014 (phylogeny; as G. cf. longipinnis); Freyhof et al. 2020 (distribution, identification); Freyhof 2025 (description).