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New Troglobites

Eyeless spiders, translucent millipedes, 175-year-old crayfish, and other odd cave-dwellers face an uncertain future.

/galleries/bcove/assets/20a50302-2fea-4487-a653-cfcf82d26a9b.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/c6a8a80c-16d6-4b60-9e11-9d9ca230b96b.jpg Amplaria adamsi, 1.25 inches (3.18 centimeters; body length), Hidden Cave]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084439 /galleries/bcove/assets/37656f2f-30ce-4ac4-aa4d-2d25a5dff8b8.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/c2a4d43c-2f40-4c71-b304-97b9c099be6d.jpg Yorima, new species, 0.2 in (0.5 cm), Clough Cave]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084438 /galleries/bcove/assets/7038e780-8a32-488a-b170-7b35a8032752.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/47c5397f-2d16-439a-a234-86f2e2fd201b.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086961 /galleries/bcove/assets/a4cc8d29-8d79-421d-a665-e4d44e5954ec.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/ed538ba0-fbdb-4ae8-a47c-9199eeafbe0a.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084456 /galleries/bcove/assets/6d6c667f-15c6-4777-a608-fcca62764f4c.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/d7ef20a5-4e5b-4705-b3eb-2a6fc13b3e40.jpg Titiotus n. sp., 0.85 in (2.2 cm), Clough Cave ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086964 /galleries/bcove/assets/ffbc3b9d-7a40-4cf1-99fe-a7f9ec33cd6b.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/19d31897-08f1-4348-a9f2-49652e91b9ae.jpg Usofila n. sp., 0.09 in (0.23 cm), Kaweah Cave]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086962 /galleries/bcove/assets/d51505ab-71c2-4393-b2e4-6f7d6b1f6777.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/c609662c-1845-4060-bae4-f3b3e1b13366.jpg Usofila n. sp., 0.09 in (0.23 cm), Clough Cave ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086963 /galleries/bcove/assets/0fa68dd6-cb1a-4b4e-a407-2c15f139e0fe.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/d09fa00e-6f43-47fd-bb7c-413da038e13e.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084455 /galleries/bcove/assets/0e50c80d-d618-4586-a3c4-43bd26ef2b0f.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/cf9ca594-dece-454d-9db1-df00edc87e98.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/35fa6b3a-8c23-4dc7-8c41-e76193044950.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/3fef332f-13a6-4448-be0f-637176d42475.jpg (Tuberochernes) is instead a troglophile, a critter adapted both for cave and surface life. It has the troglobite’s long limbs and the coloring and eyesight of an animal living aboveground.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086965 /galleries/bcove/assets/24379e37-3dc6-4521-b30b-253db410f50c.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/9d0723a3-40ba-42ef-ab0d-121ebbebe3ba.jpg (Fissilliercreagris), less than a quarter inch (0.64 cm) long, from filling the top predator spot in the cave community. When seeking food, pseudoscorpions typically cling to the undersides of rocks where unsuspecting prey, including mites, springtails, and other small arthropods, also seek shelter. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084440 /galleries/bcove/assets/b9ef06f5-3929-4a96-a3dd-786d88d9aecd.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/92c66bf5-f5bd-42c1-b4d2-5a2c75c0555a.jpg Neochthonius from Clough Cave lacks a true scorpion's main weapon, its recognizable tail. Instead, Neochthonius strikes prey with its claws, injecting venom through ducts located in the movable parts of its pincers.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084441 /galleries/bcove/assets/a3c174f0-4eef-4f9e-b1d5-7cc45845a0a8.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/18c4de5d-4047-465c-abf0-0f27be4e921c.jpg Calicina species) uses its infamous appendages not just to get around, but also to "see." Within its second pair of legs lie thousands of small sense organs that detect even the minutest changes in temperature and motion. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084442 /galleries/bcove/assets/818c5bbe-1dab-4068-a2fc-819ae33e325d.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/082e9ae0-7e86-4f13-804e-fb5c7e07d7ae.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084449 /galleries/bcove/assets/bbb8c0c9-d084-4638-a962-6392623bdab7.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/aca24ef6-086c-4557-8539-8b8606b05bf0.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084450 /galleries/bcove/assets/4f8c64f1-402c-49a7-8350-618fbd522414.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/1f5f86ca-fa21-40a7-88cd-048f97c383ef.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086966 /galleries/bcove/assets/5d5378dc-e74c-471c-a043-aee5f8679046.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/78dd8679-2381-4ae4-8d71-83d127ba26fb.jpg Oaphantes spider is one of many previously unknown species discovered recently in California’s caves. And there’s little doubt that other surprises lurk within the cracks and crevices of these underground realms. Worldwide, perhaps 90 percent of caves have no visible entrance and remain undiscovered; for scientists, they provide a challenging frontier for exploration.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084443 /galleries/bcove/assets/59f7ba2d-3ed0-40e5-a67d-75607e334a4a.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/7016b8c9-2d11-4d4f-a18c-9a817856b28a.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084451 /galleries/bcove/assets/61d6de57-f179-4bb3-bdc2-8e3989eeadf6.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/3cc93321-4c72-4840-8b37-8b503c5db838.jpg (Calileptoneta) is tinier than its deep-cave cousin, Titiotus, about the size of a silver dollar. Unlike Calileptoneta, Titiotus does not spin webs, instead catching and overpowering its prey.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084445 /galleries/bcove/assets/031846ec-7600-4908-b4ae-1721c665f725.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/49c60880-1539-4cf6-804a-262ece0ed8d2.jpg (Oaphantes) will probably live much longer than its surface relatives. Troglobites are known to go on as long as 175 years, as evidenced by the crayfish of Shelta Cave, Alabama, which mate around their hundredth year.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084444 /galleries/bcove/assets/2b0889b2-0491-4e26-9fa2-13655f3d608b.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/8e8bc014-5944-4fee-9a39-5ea35fb4919a.jpg Orthonops cave spider, like all of its underground kin, actually faces an uncertain future. Ninety-five percent of the thousand-plus known troglobite species are considered imperiled. Only 41 species, however, are recognized as such by the U.S. government.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084446 /galleries/bcove/assets/5b2de6ad-b104-4023-bf5f-7cf42cf27ebe.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/21efd68e-bdd0-419e-aefa-c3667b349c65.jpg Taiyutyla millipede, equipping the bug both for battle and for steep climbs. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084453 /galleries/bcove/assets/458d910b-ce28-46e3-8a64-09329df13b33.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/52a9c350-ac68-4e8a-b014-05a7f5f2e297.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084452 /galleries/bcove/assets/716df6cb-5048-4da4-9914-0abb24980684.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/5c18fc21-ec9a-48e6-b726-fb4e86f18d9e.jpg (Taracus), like all subterranean critters, has to live on an inconsistent and often meager food supply. Isolated from other ecosystems and facing a disproportionate number of predators, most cave animals are tiny enough to survive on limited spoils.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1084447 /galleries/bcove/assets/aedf645c-ae21-4123-a386-293efb33ad0a.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/102a67c4-e061-467f-8ffd-ed478ca88b20.jpg Taracus harvestman feel around in the dark in search of food. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1086967