In the dark, cave fish follows its own rhythm
An odd biological clock may help elucidate how daily cycles are set
A fish that swims in limestone caverns under the Somalian desert has something to tell scientists about keeping time. Despite living in permanent darkness, with no difference between day and night, this blind cave-dweller still has its own quirky sense of rhythm.
The Somalian cave fish, Phreatichthys andruzzii, has an inner timekeeper that ticks out a roughly 47-hour cycle set by food rather than sunlight, scientists from Italy, Germany and Spain report online September 6 in PLoS Biology. This odd biological clock may teach scientists more about the molecular pathways that govern such clocks, why clocks are important to organisms and how
