The Desert Fish

The Desert Fish

By Kate Wilkinson-Brindle
Illustrated by Amy Robinson

The Golden Cave Catfish

On the huge continent of Africa, there lives a strange type of fish

called the Golden Cave Catfish. The Golden Cave Catfish is

golden-white or pink-white in colour, and it grows

to about 16 centimetres long. It has a Africa
blunt, rounded head with four pairs of

barbels on it. The Golden Cave Catfish is thought

to be blind because it has a layer of skin over its tiny eyes.

dorsal fin wide mouth

sightless eyes
four pairs of barbels

Habitat Africa

The Golden Cave Catfish isn’t found in the

sea – it’s found in the desert! Deep in a cave
called Dragon's Breath Cave, there is a freshwater

lake that is dark, clear, warm and still. This lake is Namibia
the habitat of the Golden Cave Catfish. Kalahari
Are you surprised that a fish lives in the desert? Desert

Did you know?

Many metres under the Kalahari Desert in Namibia, there is a cave

called Dragon's Breath Cave.

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Diet

The Golden Cave Catfish has a very unusual diet. It eats the droppings
of the roundleaf bat, which roosts in the Dragon’s Breath Cave. It also
eats insects that fall into the lake and small worms that live in the
water. Because it is blind, the Golden Cave Catfish finds its food using
its barbels. Barbels are long and thin like whiskers. All types of catfish
use their barbels to feel, smell and taste.

Threats

Sadly, there are only a few hundred Golden Cave Catfish left in the
lake. They are extremely endangered. In the past, water was pumped
out of the cave and used to grow plants for food. This doesn’t happen
anymore, but changing water levels in the cave has lowered the
numbers of Golden Cave Catfish that live there. The cave is now
protected, and you can only visit if you have a permit. It would be
tragic to lose this unusual and lonely desert fish.

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