The olm or proteus is an aquatic salamander which is the only species in the genus Proteus of the family Proteidae and the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe; the family's other extant genus is Necturus. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and breeding underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through the extensive limestone bedrock of the karst of Central and Southeastern Europe in the basin of the Soča River near Trieste, Italy, southwestern Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Introduced populations are found near Vicenza, Italy, and Kranj, Slovenia. It was first mentioned in 1689 by the local naturalist Valvasor in his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, who reported that, after heavy rains, the olms were washed up from the underground waters and were believed by local people to be a cave dragon's offspring.
Félicien Henry Caignart de Saulcy (1832-1912) was a French entomologist specialising in Coleoptera. He was especially interested in the beetle fauna of caves. His collection of Scydmaenidae, Trechinae, Bathysciinae, Liodidae, Staphylinidae, Pselaphidae and Catopidae is in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, in Paris. He died in Metz.
Cave-dwelling insects are among the most widespread and prominent troglofauna, including troglobites, troglophiles, and trogloxenes. As a category of ecological adaptations, such insects are significant in many senses, ecological, evolutionary, and physiological.
Troglohyphantes is a genus of sheet weavers that was first described by G. Joseph in 1881. The genus name is a combination of the Ancient Greek τρώγλη, meaning "cave (dweller)", and -hyphantes, a common ending for linyphiid genera.
Troglocaris anophthalmus is a species of freshwater shrimp in the family Atyidae. It lives in karstic caves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. Although morphologically similar across its 500-kilometre (310 mi) range, molecular phylogenetics suggests that there are four or five cryptic lineages with more restricted ranges, although one such lineage does range unusually widely for a troglobite – over 300 kilometres (190 mi).
The Slovenian Museum of Natural History is a Slovenian national museum with natural history, scientific, and educational contents. It is the oldest cultural and scientific Slovenian institution.
Androniscus dentiger, the rosy woodlouse or pink woodlouse is a species of woodlouse found from the British Isles to North Africa.
Valgus hemipterus is a smallish species of scarab beetle found in the Northern Hemisphere.
Anophthalmus is a genus of ground beetle, endemic to Europe.
Anophthalmus schmidti is a species of ground beetle endemic to Europe. It is found in Croatia, mainland Italy, and Slovenia. It lives in caves.
Chlorophorus sartor is a species of beetle of the family Cerambycidae, subfamily Cerambycinae.
Gryllomorpha dalmatina, common name wingless house-cricket, is a species of cricket belonging to the family Gryllidae subfamily Gryllomorphinae.
Boris Sket was a Slovenian zoologist and speleobiologist.
Subterranean fauna refers to animal species that are adapted to live in an underground environment. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna. Both are associated with hypogeal habitats – troglofauna is associated with terrestrial subterranean environment, and stygofauna with all kind of subterranean waters.
Zospeum tholussum or the domed land snail, is a cave-dwelling species of air-breathing land snails in the family Ellobiidae. It is a very small species, with a shell height of less than 2 mm (0.08 in) and a shell width of around 1 mm (0.04 in). Z. tholussum individuals are completely blind and possess translucent shells with five to six whorls. The second whorl of their shells has a characteristic dome-like shape. They are also extremely slow-moving and may depend on passive transportation through running water or larger animals for dispersal.
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. The terms troglobitic, stygobitic, stygofauna, troglofauna, and hypogean or hypogeic, are often used for cave-dwelling organisms.
Biospeleology, also known as cave biology, is a branch of biology dedicated to the study of organisms that live in caves and are collectively referred to as troglofauna.
Rhadine infernalis is a species of troglobitic beetle of the family Carabidae. They are endemic to the county of Bexar, Texas. Within this county, R. infernalis has been found in 39 caves. There are 2 named subspecies of R. infernalis: R. infernalis infernalis and R. infernalis ewersi. There is a third possible subspecies that has not been officially described. R. infernalis was classified in 2000 as endangered under the IUCN Endangered Species Act of 1973, along with 8 other karst invertebrates in the same region. It has the widest known range of the endangered karst invertebrates.
Ferdinand Joseph Schmidt was an Austro-Hungarian businessman, naturalist and explorer who was among the pioneers of biospeleology, the study of cave fauna.
