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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]
Light becomes scarcer in the twilight zone. The transition zone is almost completely dark; however some outside environmental effects can still be felt. Finally, the deep cave zone is completely dark, relatively stable, and exhibits no evaporation. Troglobites are usually found in the deep cave zone.
Caves tend to be geologically short-lived, so most of the specialised adaptations are correspondingly young in evolutionary terms and to have arisen rapidly and in parallel from similar ancestors that began as similar troglophiles in separated caves. Many insect troglobites are Orthopteran, Collembolan, or Blattodean, for example, and given the ...
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.
Troglobites are obligatory cavernicoles, specialized for cave life. Some can leave caves for short periods, and may complete parts of their life cycles above ground, but cannot live their entire lives outside of a cave environment. Examples include chemotrophic bacteria, some species of flatworms, springtails, and cavefish.
Tooth Cave pseudoscorpions fall under the category of troglobites, which are species that spend their entire lives in caves. Some distinct features of troglobites include attenuated palps and long, slender appendages. [5] Tooth Cave pseudoscorpions are large for cave-dwelling species in this area, measuring about 4 mm (0.15 in) in length.
Troglobites prefer to inhabit the dark zone of the cave where the humidity and temperature are relatively constant. High temperatures nearly 100% humidity is required for most troglobites. There are some 7,700 species of troglobites, but this is probably only a small portion of the population because most of them have not been discovered.
Texella reddelli, the Bee Creek cave harvestman, [3] is a rare species of troglobitic harvestman that was added to the United States endangered species list in 1988, at the same time as six other species native to the karst ecosystem in Travis County and Williamson County, Texas, USA.