science

List of troglobites

List of troglobites is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of troglobites rather than just read about it. In short: A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is a 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).

Key takeaways

List of troglobites belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of troglobites to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of troglobites from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is a 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). Land-dwelling troglobites may be referred to as troglofauna, while aquatic species may be called stygofauna, although for these animals the term stygobite is preferable. Troglobites typically display troglomorphism, which are morphological adaptations to cave life. Examples of such adaptations include slow metabolism, reduced energy consumption, better food usage efficiency, decrease or loss of eyesight (anophthalmia), and depigmentation (absence of pigment in the integument). Conversely, as opposed to lost or reduced functions, many species have evolved elongated antenna and locomotory appendages, in order to better move around and respond to environmental stimuli. These structures are also full of chemical, tactile, and humidity receptors. Troglobites commonly do not survive well outside caves and therefore cannot travel between separate cave systems. As a result, many troglobiotic species are endemic to a single cave or system of caves. Not all cave dwelling species are considered to be troglobites. An animal found in an underground environment may be a troglophile (a species living both in subterranean and in epigean habitats, e.g. bats and cave swallows) or a trogloxene (a species only occurring sporadically in a hypogean habitat and unable to establish a subterranean population).

Flatworms Hausera hauseri

Mollusca

Bivalvia Congeria jalzici (cave clam) Congeria kusceri Congeria mualomerovici Eupera troglobia

Gastropoda Foushee Cavesnail (Amnicola cora) Angustopila psammion Tumbling Creek cavesnail (Antrobia culveri) Manitou cavesnail (Antrorbis breweri) Cecilioides Phantom cave snail (Pyrgulopsis texana) Peck's cave snail (Glyphyalinia pecki) Maitai Cave snail (Hadopyrgus ngataana) Laoennea renouardi Neritilia mimotoi Mimic cavesnail (Phreatodrobia imitata) Cave physa (Physella spelunca) Pisulina maxima Tashan cave snail (Trogloiranica tashanica) Zospeum tholussum

Velvet worms White cave velvet worm (Peripatopsis alba) Speleoperipatus spelaeus

Arthropoda

Arachnida

Acontius stercoricola Adelocosa anops – Kauaʻi cave wolf spider Anapistula (various spp.) Apneumonella (various spp.) Agraecina cristiani – Movile cave spider Anopsolobus subterraneus Aops oncodactylus – Barrow Island cave scorpion Apochthonius mysterius – Mystery cave pseudoscorpion Apochthonius typhlus – Stone County cave pseudoscorpion Baiami (various spp.) Calicina cloughensis Charinus spelaeus Chinquipellobunus madlae Chthonius (various spp.) Cicurina madla – Madla Cave meshweaver Cybaeus (various spp.) Cybaeozyga heterops Cycloctenus (various spp.) Desognanops humphreysi Dysderoides (various spp.) Gamasomorpha (various spp.) Herpyllus (various spp.) Hesperochernes occidentalis – guano pseudoscorpion Hexathele cavernicola Hickmania troglodytes Hongkongia (various spp.) Lycosa howarthi Lygromma sp. Hormurus polisorum – Christmas Island cave scorpion Maymena (various spp.) Mesostalita nocturna Mimetus strinatii Mundochthonius cavernicolus – cavernicolous pseudoscorpion Neobisium maritimum Nukuhiva adamsoni Olin platnicki Ossinissa justoi Parobisium yosemite – Yosemite cave pseudoscorpion Phanetta subterranea Phanotea (various spp.) Phyxelida makapanensis Porrhomma cavernicola – cavernicolous Porrhomma spider Porrhomma rosenhaueri Sinopoda scurion – Eyeless huntsman spider Spelocteniza ashmolei Spelungula cavernicola – Nelson cave spider Stalita taenaria Stiphidion (various spp.) Tartarus (various spp.) Telema (various spp.) Telemofila (various spp.) Tengella (various spp.) Texella reddelli Titanobochica magna – cave pseudoscorpion Toxopsiella (various spp.) Trichopelma Troglodiplura beirutpakbarai Troglodiplura challeni Troglodiplura harrisi Troglodiplura lowryi Troglodiplura samankunani Troglokhammouanus steineri – Xe Bang Fai cave scorpion Trogloneta (various spp.) Trogloraptor marchingtoni Troglothele Usofila (various spp.) Vietbocap lao – Nam Lot cave scorpion Wanops coecus

Myriapoda Millipedes

Causeyella species Chaetaspis aleyorum – Aleys' cave millipede Chersoiulus sphinx Desmoxytes Mammamia profuga Polydesmus subterraneus Sinocallipus Tetracion Tingupa pallida Titanophyllum spiliarum Trichopetalum whitei Zosteractis interminata Centipedes Cryptops speleorex Eupolybothrus cavernicolus Scolopocryptops troglocaudatus Geophilus hadesi Geophilus persephones Symphylans

Hanseniella magna

Crustacea Crayfish

Others

Insecta

Fish

List of cave fish

Amphibians Cave salamanders

Mammals No known mammals live exclusively in caves. Most bats sleep in caves during the day and hunt at night, but they are considered troglophiles or trogloxenes. However some fossorials which spend their whole lives underground might be considered subterranean fauna, although they are not true troglofauna as they do not live in caves.

Echinodermata Asterinides sp. Copidaster cavernicola – Cozumel's cave sea star Ophionereis commutabilis

Porifera Eunapius subterraneus Racekiela cavernicola

Annelida Erpobdella borisi Erpobdella mestrovi Haemopis caeca Marifugia cavatica

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of troglobites

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of troglobites claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of troglobites before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of troglobites ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of troglobites

In research: List of troglobites appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of troglobites in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of troglobites is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cave animals, Lists of animals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of troglobites outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of troglobites in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of troglobites means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain List of troglobites out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of troglobites in simple terms?

Why does List of troglobites matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of troglobites?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of troglobites.