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Devils Hole Pupfish
Description
Devils Hole Pupfish is one of the world’s rarest fishes, spending most of its life in the top 80 feet of the 93 degree waters of cavern in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Its habitat is one of the smallest natural ranges known for any vertebrate.
Devils Hole is an extreme environment, with water temperatures and dissolved oxygen concentrations near their lethal limits for fish. It is thought this fish has survived and adapted to these harsh conditions for thousands of years.
Although the surface of the Devils Hole pool is small, it is an aquifer over 400 feet deep that is linked to groundwater important to Nevada and California. Scientist have recently discovered a connection with Devils Hole to earthquakes thousands of miles away. In 2012, violent pressure waves (mini-tsunami) were recorded in Devils Hole as a result of earthquakes as far away as El Salvador and Mexico.