The Ash Meadows pupfish, which may soon form a hybrid species
with its cousin, the Devils Hole pupfish. The Devils Hole
pupfish is an endangered species whose only natural habitat is
Devils Hole, a hot spring at the bottom of a hole 500-feet deep
which leads to limestone caverns. The fish is suited to its
niche environment, requiring extremely hot water, low oxygen
levels, and a particular limestone ledge to spawn on. If
University of Colorado conservation biologists have their way,
it could be the subject of a conservation experiment, writes
Hillary Rosner at Wired: in order to salvage some of dying
species’ genes, they want to mate it with another species,
creating a vigorous hybrid that could supplant the original
species. Conservationists have been trying to save the Devils
Hole pupfish ever since it became endangered in 1967. Beginning
in the 70s, they have made three outdoor artificial pools to
house a captive population, but through technical mishaps, two
of the three populations were wiped out. In the