Ricinulei is a small order of arachnids. Like most arachnids, they are predatory, eating small arthropods. They occur today in west-central Africa (Ricinoides) and the Neotropics as far north as Texas. As of 2021, 91 extant species of ricinuleids have been described worldwide, all in the single family Ricinoididae. In older works they are sometimes referred to as Podogona. Due to their obscurity they do not have a proper common name, though in academic literature they are occasionally referred to as hooded tickspiders.
Pedipalps are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and anterior to the first pair of walking legs.
A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The regional term is specifically associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where cenotes were commonly used for water supplies by the ancient Maya, and occasionally for sacrificial offerings. The term derives from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya—tsʼonot—to refer to any location with accessible groundwater.
Sistema Ox Bel Ha is a cave system in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is the longest explored underwater cave in the world and ranks second including dry caves. As of January 2023 the surveyed length is 435.8 kilometers (270.8 mi) of underwater passages. There are more than 150 cenotes in the system.
The Maltese palpigrade, endemic to the Maltese Islands, comes from the order Palpigradi, a rather primitive order of arachnids. There are 80 species of palpigrade worldwide. They are small and eyeless with a long tail-like structure.
Sistema Sac Actun is an underwater cave system situated along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula with passages to the north and west of the city of Tulum. Discovery of a connection to the Sistema Dos Ojos in 2018 made it the longest known underwater cave system. As of January 2023, it the second longest underwater cave system in the world only surpassed by Ox Bel Ha
The Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS) was established in 1990 for the safe exploration, survey and cartography of the underwater and dry caves and cenotes of Quintana Roo, Mexico, supported by the National Speleological Society.
Sandia Cave, also called the Sandia Man Cave, is an archaeological site near Bernalillo, New Mexico, within Cibola National Forest. First discovered and excavated in the 1930s, the site exhibits evidence of human use from 9,000 to 11,000 years ago. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The site is open to the public, up a difficult half-mile trail off New Mexico State Road 165.
Hubbardiidae is a family of arachnids, superficially resembling spiders. It is the larger of the two extant families of the order, Schizomida, and is divided into two subfamilies. The family is based on the description published by Orator F. Cook in 1899, and was previously named as Schizomidae. The American Arachnological Society assigns the common name hubbardiid shorttailed whipscorpion to members of this family
Cryptocellus is an arachnid genus in the order Ricinulei, first described by John Westwood in 1874. It is native to the Neotropics.
Cryptocellus adisi is an arachnid species in the order Ricinulei. It occurs in Central Amazonia in Brazil.
Pseudocellus is an arachnid genus in the order Ricinulei, first described by Norman Platnick in 1980. It is native to the Neotropics.
Pseudocellus pearsei is an arachnid species in the order Ricinulei. It occurs in caves in Yucatan, Mexico.
Pseudocellus bolivari is an arachnid species in the order Ricinulei. It occurs in caves in Chiapas, Mexico. The specific epithet is a tribute to Cándido Luis Bolívar y Pieltáin.
Pseudocellus boneti is an arachnid species in the order Ricinulei. It occurs in the Cacahuamilpa cave system in Guerrero, Mexico.
Pseudocellus cookei is an arachnid species in the order Ricinulei. It occurs only in the cueva Jobitzinaj in Petén, Guatemala.
Sistema Huautla is a cave system in the Sierra Mazateca mountains of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. As of April 2021 it was the deepest cave system in the Western Hemisphere, 1,560 metres (5,120 ft) from top to bottom, with over 55 miles of mapped passageways.
Pseudocellus platnicki is a species of ricinulei classed in the family of Ricinoididae.
The Alpazat cave rescue occurred in March 2004 after six British soldiers became trapped in the Alpazat caverns in Puebla, Mexico near Cuetzalan. All six were rescued by British cave divers after spending eight days inside the cave. The incident resulted in diplomatic tension between Britain and Mexico, as the soldiers refused local help and there were rumors that they were surveying for uranium deposits.
