New Troglobites
The caves of Sequoia National Park are home to strange invertebrates known as troglobites and troglophiles. Click on the caves' dots to learn more about these rarely seen creatures.
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Crystal
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Crystal
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Pet Cemetary
Taracus), or daddy longlegs, gets a lot of use from its eponymous legs. In addition to carrying the Taracus around, its legs contain sensory organs that act as the harvestman’s eyes, nose and tongue, detecting changes in the dark cave environment. The harvestman's second pair of legs is its longest, most sensitive and most important. Used for identifying food, the loss of both these legs is fatal.
Taracus , new species]]>
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Pet Cemetary
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Walk Softly
Orthonops spider’s adaptation to cave life, it retains the trait that makes spiders so famous above ground. Belonging to a family of spiders known as aerial sheet weavers, the Orthonops spins a web to catch its prey, which usually consists of other arthropods.
Orthonops , new species]]>
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Walk Softly
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Ursa Minor
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Ursa Minor
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Clough
Neochthonius pseudoscorpion highlights a hallmark troglobite trait22mdash22loss of pigmentation. The Neochthonius shown above has so little pigmentation that it is possible to see two if its legs through its left pincer.
Neochthonius , new species]]>
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Clough
Usofila spider is truly tiny. While the average spider has eight eyes, this new species of Usofila has none. They would be useless in the lightless depths of the cave.
Usofila new species]]>
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Clough
Brackenridgia isopod lacks lungs. It breathes through gills that extract oxygen from water and will suffocate if it ever dries out. This makes the Brackenridgia particularly well suited for the consistently moist climate inside Sequoia National Park's caves.
Brackenridgia species]]>
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Clough
Calileptoneta spider.
Calileptoneta , new species]]>
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Clough
Bidentogon millipede may look like an easy meal for a clawed pseudoscorpion or a venomous centipede. However, when attacked, this millipede releases hydrogen cyanide from small pores along both sides of its body. The toxic gas usually convinces predators to go find something else to eat.
Bidentogon , new species]]>
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Clough
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Hidden
Fissilliercreagris pseudoscorpion look vicious, but they are used for more than catching and dismembering prey. These grasping appendages also contain silk glands. Pseudoscorpions use silk to build refuges during times of vulnerability, such as molting or egg laying.
Fissillircreagris , new species]]>
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Hidden
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Verdana
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Lost Soldiers
Catopocerus belongs to a family of beetles commonly known as round fungus beetles. These beetles are mycetophagous, feeding off the fungi found in decaying plant and animal matter.
Catopocerus species]]>
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Lost Soldiers
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Lost Soldiers
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Verdana
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Panorama
Taracus) can detach some of its legs as a defense mechanism. Quivering on the ground, the disconnected legs may divert the predator long enough for the Taracus to escape. While the Taracus cannot regenerate the lost legs, it can survive with as few as four, as long as it retains at least one belonging to the second pair.
Taracus , new species]]>
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Panorama
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Verdana
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Paradise
Oaphantes spider navigate uneven cave surfaces. While such specializations make troglobites and troglophiles perfectly suited to cave life, they also mean these cave dwellers are very sensitive to any change in their environment.
Ophantes , new species]]>
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Paradise
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Verdana
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true
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Kaweah
Tuberochernes pseudoscorpion are not obligate cave dwellers. They can complete their life cycles in caves or in suitable surface environments, such as under rocks or fallen trees.
Tuberochernes , new species
]]>
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Kaweah
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Kaweah
Calicina may look like a spider, it's actually a harvestman, or daddy longlegs. Whereas a spider's body is clearly divided into two parts, the head and the abdomen, a harvestman's body does not have clearly defined segments, appearing instead as a single oval-shaped unit.
Calicina , new species
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Kaweah
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Kaweah
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Kaweah
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Carmoe Crevice
Oaphantes spider is one of some 30 new species recently discovered in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. While all of these newly found species are invertebrates, not all troglobites are creepy-crawlies. Known vertebrate troglobites found in the United States include fully blind fish and salamanders.
Oaphantes , new species]]>
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Carmoe Crevice
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