Troglobionts: the most unusual cave dwellers you could not even imagine (10 photos)

Cave life is very different from life in the open air - this can be understood only by a glimpse of animals that have adapted to darkness and dampness. They lost sight and color, having received in return the ability to navigate in the impenetrable darkness. They are called troglobionts.





Insects, arachnids, fish and amphibians in all their forms show that underground existence is not so scary. Or on the contrary, it is just so scary that an ordinary animal in such conditions do not last even a couple of days. And even if someone lives in caves not all life, but a certain limited period of time, underground the world still leaves a recognizable imprint on it.

Strange leeches live in the caves of the Velebit mountain range in Croatia Croatobranchus mestrovi. They inhabit lakes with ice water at the bottom of the most deep mines. On the sides of the bodies of leeches are outgrowths resembling legs, and the mouth openings are surrounded by tentacles. It is not known exactly what they they eat, because, except for leeches, no one lives in icy lakes.



Back in the 19th century, scientists did not know what kind of animals inhabit caves, and many even doubted their existence. All changed with the discovery in 1831 of the first cave beetle Leptodirus hochenwartii, which gave rise to the development of biospeleology - the science of life in caves.





The fish genus Sinocyclocheilus is characterized not only recognizable depressed skull, but also different habitats. Some species are completely aboveground, others are semicavernous, with weak eyes, others are troglobionts of pure water, blind and pale. Studying of all kinds is extremely valuable for biologists, because it helps to understand mechanisms of cave adaptation.





Although many spiders live in caves, until 2012 it was possible to detect troglobionts among hunting spiders catching victim without a web. Finally, Sinopodia scurion was found, the only eyeless hunter spider of over 1000 known species





Munidopsis polymorpha, which is called the "cave crab", actually refers to ten-legged crayfish. He lives in a lava tube under the Canary Islands and feeds only on diatoms, growing in sunlight. For this they, however, lack a couple holes in the ceiling.





Fish Stygichthys typhlops looks more than menacing - big head, sharp teeth, and besides, she is a distant relative piranhas. It was first discovered in Brazil in 1960, and since it was the only precedent, considered extinct until 2010, when suddenly managed to collect new representatives of the species.





The lizard Amphisbaena caeca, resembling an eyeless worm, on actually does not live in caves all the time, but spends most of the time there time. She has eyes - tiny and capable of distinguishing light from darkness, nothing more. Cave lizards live in Puerto Rico and eat ant and termite eggs.





The most famous species of cave salamanders are proteas, but there are others. Eurycea rathbuni are more common and more adapted for underground life. Eurycea waterlooensis significantly rarer and found only under Baton Springs in Texas.





Troglobionts could not be found in Australia until discovery in 1980 of the Bayliss cave with a huge variety of cave insects. Among them, superfamilies related to cicadas were found, feeding on plant sap. Under the ground, they suck it out of the roots.





Phasmatocoris labyrinthicus - underground beetle, the only an animal on the list with more or less decent vision. The latter is required to get out of the cave and fly to another in search of sexual partner.