chinchin_1988
4th Jun '08 Wed, 14:50
Trogloxenes
The word TROGLO means hole. Trogloxenes
are animals who sometimes choose caves as their homes.
Pack rat
Pack rats are prevalent in the deserts and highlands of western United States and northern Mexico. They also occur in parts of the eastern United States and Western Canada. Pack rats are a
little smaller than a typical rat and have long, sometimes bushy tails.
Pack rats build complex nests of twigs, called "middens",
often incorporating cactus. Nests are often built in small caves. Some Neotoma species, such as the White-throated Woodrat (N.
albigula), use the base of a prickly pear or cholla cactus as the site for their home, utilizing the cactus' spines for protection from
predators. Others, like the Desert Woodrat (N. lepida) will appropriate the burrows of ground squirrels or kangaroo rats and
fortify the entrance with sticks and bits of spiny cactus stems fallen from Jumping and Teddy-bear Chollas.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m79b13cec.jpg
Raccoon
The Raccoon (Procyon lotor), also known as the Northern Raccoon, Common Raccoon, or Coon, is a widespread, medium-sized, omnivorous
mammal native to North America. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, they have also been widespread on the European mainland and
in the Caucasus region, after having escaped from fur farms. Raccoons usually live together in small, loose groups. Their original
habitats are mixed or deciduous forests, but due to their adaptability, they are often found in urban areas where they can be
considered pests at times.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_mb6f10db.jpg
Troglophiles
Trogolophiles are animals who like to live in caves but also can live elsewhere.
cave crickets
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae includes the cave wetas, cave crickets, camel crickets and sand treaders, of the suborder
Ensifera, nearly all of which are found in association with caves or cave-like environments. Most have extra-long antennae, longer legs,
and an aggressive demeanor. They may be found on all continents and many continental islands though Africa has but one species and that
is confined to the Cape. Those occurring in New Zealand and surrounding areas are typically referred to as cave weta.
The well-known field crickets are from a different superfamily (Grylloidea) and only look vaguely similar.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m54d216d5.jpg
Harvestmen
Harvestmen (also known as daddy long-legs) are eight-legged invertebrate animals belonging to the order Opiliones (formerly
Phalangida) in the class Arachnida, in the subphylum Chelicerata of the phylum Arthropoda. As of 2006, over 6,400 species of harvestmen
have been discovered worldwide, although the real number of extant species may exceed 10,000 species. The order Opiliones can be divided
in four suborders: Cyphophthalmi (Simon, 1879), Eupnoi (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904), Dyspnoi (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904)
and Laniatores (Thorell, 1876). Well-preserved fossils have been found in the 400-million year old Rhynie cherts of Scotland, which
look surprisingly modern, indicating that the basic structure of the harvestmen has not changed much since then. Phylogenetic position is
disputed: their closest relatives may be the mites (Acari) or the Novogenuata.
In some places, harvestmen are known by the name "daddy longlegs" or "granddaddy longlegs", but this name can
also refer to two other unrelated arthropods: the crane fly (Tipulidae) and the cellar spider (Pholcidae).
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m7a590c3e.jpg
Blind cave beetle
Anophthalmus hitleri is a species of blind cave beetle found so far in only five humid caves, all located in Slovenia. The blind cave
beetle shares its genus with 41 other species and 95 different subspecies. Members of this subfamily (Trechinae) are, like most
Carabidae, predatory, so the adults and larvae of A. hitleri are presumed to be predators on smaller cave inhabitants (one of the
benefits of systematics is that it allows predictions about unknown features of an organism to be made with some confidence, based on
knowledge of related species).
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m203524a7.jpg
Cave Salamander
The olm, or Proteus (Proteus anguinus), is an amphibian, native to the subterranean waters of the Dinaric karst that flow through the
Soča river basin near Trieste in Italy, through to southern Slovenia, southwestern Croatia, and Herzegovina. It is the only
species in the genus Proteus, the only European species of the family Proteidae, and the only European cave-dwelling chordate. It is also
called the human fish or humanfish, because of its human-like skin.
This animal is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. The olm's eyes have
atrophied, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, have become very acute. It also lacks any
pigmentation in its skin. In contrast to other amphibians, the olm is entirely aquatic, and it eats, sleeps, and even breeds underwater.
This is possibly because of, or perhaps the reason for, their retention of larval characteristics (like external gills) into
adulthood.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m15059ee3.jpg
Troglobites
Troglobites are animals who only live in caves. They can't survive anywhere else.
Blind crayfish
Orconectes stygocaneyi Hobbs, a stygobitic cave crayfish (female) from Caney Mountain Conservation and Natural Area, Ozark County,
Missouri. This species is the first stygobitic Orconectes from west of the Mississippi River. Its closest relative is O. pellucidus
of Kentucky. These crayfishes may have been isolated in caves since the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene. By William R. Elliott, 1999.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m4952c93.jpg
Kentucky blind shrimp
The Kentucky cave shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri) is an eyeless, troglodyte shrimp found in caves in three counties of Kentucky. Its
skin has no pigment; the species is nearly transparent and closely resembles its nearest relative, the Alabama cave shrimp.
The habitat of the Kentucky cave shrimp is exclusively in underground streams of caves. It is endemic to the Mammoth Cave
National Park region of central Kentucky. The shrimp feeds mainly on sediments that are washed into the cave by the movement of
groundwater.
The Kentucky cave shrimp has been registered as an endangered species since 1983, mainly due to contaminated groundwater running
into its habitat. Several nearby communities either have inadequate sewage treatment facilities or lack such facilities altogether. An
additional potential threat is the entry of contaminants from traffic accidents and roadside businesses. One incident in 1979 caused the
death of aquatic cave organisms in a part of the Mammoth Cave system, and in a 1980 incident, a truck carrying toxic cyanide salts
overturned on Interstate Highway 65, just south of Mammoth Cave National Park.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m458755aa.jpg
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Many species are planktonic, but
more are benthic, and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as
swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds and puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses (phytotelmata)
of plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream
beds. Some copepods are parasitic[1] and attach themselves to fish, sharks, marine mammals, and many kinds of invertebrates such as molluscs, tunicates, or corals.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_2c9375e4.jpg
Blind flatworm
Macrocotyla glandulosa (Hyman), the Pink planarian, a stygobite known only from Devil's Icebox Cave, Boone County, Missouri. By
William R. Elliott
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_37c89727.jpg
Blind millipede
Trichopetalum whitei, sometimes called the Luray Caverns blind cave millipede, is a rare troglobitic (obligate cavernicolous)
millipede of the upper Potomac River drainage in four Virginia counties and three West Virginia counties. It has been recorded from
12 caves across this range, including the Luray Caverns where it was first discovered and described.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m9e824d.jpg
Cave Salamander
The Cave Salamander is a medium sized salamander reaching average lengths around 6 inches. The young of this species is often yellow in
color whereas the adults are generally a bright orange with black spots covering most of the body except the belly which is a
yellow-orange. The females of the species are usually larger than males and can be distinguished by the males swollen cloacal area.
They are generally found in caves around limestone outcroppings.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m11a52961.jpg
The word TROGLO means hole. Trogloxenes
are animals who sometimes choose caves as their homes.
Pack rat
Pack rats are prevalent in the deserts and highlands of western United States and northern Mexico. They also occur in parts of the eastern United States and Western Canada. Pack rats are a
little smaller than a typical rat and have long, sometimes bushy tails.
Pack rats build complex nests of twigs, called "middens",
often incorporating cactus. Nests are often built in small caves. Some Neotoma species, such as the White-throated Woodrat (N.
albigula), use the base of a prickly pear or cholla cactus as the site for their home, utilizing the cactus' spines for protection from
predators. Others, like the Desert Woodrat (N. lepida) will appropriate the burrows of ground squirrels or kangaroo rats and
fortify the entrance with sticks and bits of spiny cactus stems fallen from Jumping and Teddy-bear Chollas.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m79b13cec.jpg
Raccoon
The Raccoon (Procyon lotor), also known as the Northern Raccoon, Common Raccoon, or Coon, is a widespread, medium-sized, omnivorous
mammal native to North America. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, they have also been widespread on the European mainland and
in the Caucasus region, after having escaped from fur farms. Raccoons usually live together in small, loose groups. Their original
habitats are mixed or deciduous forests, but due to their adaptability, they are often found in urban areas where they can be
considered pests at times.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_mb6f10db.jpg
Troglophiles
Trogolophiles are animals who like to live in caves but also can live elsewhere.
cave crickets
The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae includes the cave wetas, cave crickets, camel crickets and sand treaders, of the suborder
Ensifera, nearly all of which are found in association with caves or cave-like environments. Most have extra-long antennae, longer legs,
and an aggressive demeanor. They may be found on all continents and many continental islands though Africa has but one species and that
is confined to the Cape. Those occurring in New Zealand and surrounding areas are typically referred to as cave weta.
The well-known field crickets are from a different superfamily (Grylloidea) and only look vaguely similar.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m54d216d5.jpg
Harvestmen
Harvestmen (also known as daddy long-legs) are eight-legged invertebrate animals belonging to the order Opiliones (formerly
Phalangida) in the class Arachnida, in the subphylum Chelicerata of the phylum Arthropoda. As of 2006, over 6,400 species of harvestmen
have been discovered worldwide, although the real number of extant species may exceed 10,000 species. The order Opiliones can be divided
in four suborders: Cyphophthalmi (Simon, 1879), Eupnoi (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904), Dyspnoi (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904)
and Laniatores (Thorell, 1876). Well-preserved fossils have been found in the 400-million year old Rhynie cherts of Scotland, which
look surprisingly modern, indicating that the basic structure of the harvestmen has not changed much since then. Phylogenetic position is
disputed: their closest relatives may be the mites (Acari) or the Novogenuata.
In some places, harvestmen are known by the name "daddy longlegs" or "granddaddy longlegs", but this name can
also refer to two other unrelated arthropods: the crane fly (Tipulidae) and the cellar spider (Pholcidae).
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m7a590c3e.jpg
Blind cave beetle
Anophthalmus hitleri is a species of blind cave beetle found so far in only five humid caves, all located in Slovenia. The blind cave
beetle shares its genus with 41 other species and 95 different subspecies. Members of this subfamily (Trechinae) are, like most
Carabidae, predatory, so the adults and larvae of A. hitleri are presumed to be predators on smaller cave inhabitants (one of the
benefits of systematics is that it allows predictions about unknown features of an organism to be made with some confidence, based on
knowledge of related species).
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m203524a7.jpg
Cave Salamander
The olm, or Proteus (Proteus anguinus), is an amphibian, native to the subterranean waters of the Dinaric karst that flow through the
Soča river basin near Trieste in Italy, through to southern Slovenia, southwestern Croatia, and Herzegovina. It is the only
species in the genus Proteus, the only European species of the family Proteidae, and the only European cave-dwelling chordate. It is also
called the human fish or humanfish, because of its human-like skin.
This animal is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. The olm's eyes have
atrophied, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, have become very acute. It also lacks any
pigmentation in its skin. In contrast to other amphibians, the olm is entirely aquatic, and it eats, sleeps, and even breeds underwater.
This is possibly because of, or perhaps the reason for, their retention of larval characteristics (like external gills) into
adulthood.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m15059ee3.jpg
Troglobites
Troglobites are animals who only live in caves. They can't survive anywhere else.
Blind crayfish
Orconectes stygocaneyi Hobbs, a stygobitic cave crayfish (female) from Caney Mountain Conservation and Natural Area, Ozark County,
Missouri. This species is the first stygobitic Orconectes from west of the Mississippi River. Its closest relative is O. pellucidus
of Kentucky. These crayfishes may have been isolated in caves since the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene. By William R. Elliott, 1999.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m4952c93.jpg
Kentucky blind shrimp
The Kentucky cave shrimp (Palaemonias ganteri) is an eyeless, troglodyte shrimp found in caves in three counties of Kentucky. Its
skin has no pigment; the species is nearly transparent and closely resembles its nearest relative, the Alabama cave shrimp.
The habitat of the Kentucky cave shrimp is exclusively in underground streams of caves. It is endemic to the Mammoth Cave
National Park region of central Kentucky. The shrimp feeds mainly on sediments that are washed into the cave by the movement of
groundwater.
The Kentucky cave shrimp has been registered as an endangered species since 1983, mainly due to contaminated groundwater running
into its habitat. Several nearby communities either have inadequate sewage treatment facilities or lack such facilities altogether. An
additional potential threat is the entry of contaminants from traffic accidents and roadside businesses. One incident in 1979 caused the
death of aquatic cave organisms in a part of the Mammoth Cave system, and in a 1980 incident, a truck carrying toxic cyanide salts
overturned on Interstate Highway 65, just south of Mammoth Cave National Park.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m458755aa.jpg
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Many species are planktonic, but
more are benthic, and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as
swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests, bogs, springs, ephemeral ponds and puddles, damp moss, or water-filled recesses (phytotelmata)
of plants such as bromeliads and pitcher plants. Many live underground in marine and freshwater caves, sinkholes, or stream
beds. Some copepods are parasitic[1] and attach themselves to fish, sharks, marine mammals, and many kinds of invertebrates such as molluscs, tunicates, or corals.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_2c9375e4.jpg
Blind flatworm
Macrocotyla glandulosa (Hyman), the Pink planarian, a stygobite known only from Devil's Icebox Cave, Boone County, Missouri. By
William R. Elliott
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_37c89727.jpg
Blind millipede
Trichopetalum whitei, sometimes called the Luray Caverns blind cave millipede, is a rare troglobitic (obligate cavernicolous)
millipede of the upper Potomac River drainage in four Virginia counties and three West Virginia counties. It has been recorded from
12 caves across this range, including the Luray Caverns where it was first discovered and described.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m9e824d.jpg
Cave Salamander
The Cave Salamander is a medium sized salamander reaching average lengths around 6 inches. The young of this species is often yellow in
color whereas the adults are generally a bright orange with black spots covering most of the body except the belly which is a
yellow-orange. The females of the species are usually larger than males and can be distinguished by the males swollen cloacal area.
They are generally found in caves around limestone outcroppings.
http://www.skambu.net/img/cave_animals/index_html_m11a52961.jpg