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A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves.These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live underground (eutroglophiles), and species that are only cave visitors (subtroglophiles and trogloxenes). [1]
Caves that are close to the surface, such as lava tubes, often have tree roots hanging from the cave roof, which provide nutrients for sap-feeding insects. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Other important food sources in underground habitats are animals being decomposed and bat guano , [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] that creates large invertebrate communities in such caves.
The microscopic cave snail Zospeum tholussum, found at depths of 743 to 1,392 m (2,438 to 4,567 ft) in the Lukina Jama–Trojama cave system of Croatia, is completely blind with a translucent shell Troglofauna are small cave -dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings.
Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an animal to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterised by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies or appendages.
Main article: Anthodite A speleothem (cave formation) composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters which radiate outward from a common base. B Belly crawl A passage that is very low. Biospeleology Main article: Biospeleology A branch of biology dedicated to the study of organisms that live in caves and are collectively referred to as troglofauna. Boneyard An intricate maze of ...
Cavefish or cave fish is a generic term for fresh and brackish water fish adapted to life in caves and other underground habitats. Related terms are subterranean fish, troglomorphic fish, troglobitic fish, stygobitic fish, phreatic fish, and hypogean fish.
The antennae arise closely and next to each other on the head. They are brownish in color and rather humpbacked in appearance, always wingless, and up to 5 cm (2.0 in) long in body and 10 cm (3.9 in) for the legs. The bodies of early instars may appear translucent. As their name suggests, cave crickets are commonly found in caves or old mines.
The olm's body is snakelike, 20–30 cm (8–12 in) long, with some specimens reaching up to 40 centimetres (16 in), which makes them some of the largest cave-dwelling animals in the world. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] The average length is between 23 and 25 cm. [ 15 ] Females grow larger than males, but otherwise the primary external difference between the ...