searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

C. Bolivar and J. Carranza investigated wells andmines in the vicinity of Musquiz, Coahuila. The mostsignificant discovery made was of the first blind catfishin Mexico (Bolivar and Carranza, 1954); thisspecies was described as Prietella phreatoph'ila byCarranza (1954).In December 1955 Malcolm S. Gordon, R. Deering,and J. Till made the third trip to Cueva delAzufre, Tabasco, and once again collected a series ofPoecilia sphenops.In July 1956 W. J. Gertsch and Vincent Roth revisitedCueva del Diablo, Chihuahua, and visitedCueva de EI Ocote, Hidalgo. In the latter cave theycollected specimens of new species of spider (Gertsch,1971a) and carabid beetle (Hendrichs and Bolivar,1966).Grutas del Cocona, Tabasco, was visited in 1958by A. Villalobos, where he discovered the first troglobiticamphipod known from Mexico and reported thepresence of a troglobitic planarian (Villalobos, 1960).The planarian was later rediscovered and described byMitchell and Kawakatsu (1972) as a new family, genus,and species (Dimarcusidae, Dimarcus villalobosi).On February 15 and July 27, 1958, Grutas del Mogote,Guerrero, was visited by Raymond de Saussure,at which time he collected specimens of a troglobiticrhachodesmid milliped (Causey, 1973).On March 20, 1959, Stanley Kiem visited a cavenear the Hacienda San Bernardo, Yucatan, nowidentified as Actun Xpukil. He discovered a speciesof troglobitic milliped which was described by Loomis(1962) as Orthoporus kiemi. A large series ofliving and preserved troglobitic Poecilia sphenopswas collected in Cueva del Azufre, Tabasco, in March1959 by A. G. Dinkins.Visits were made by A. Villalobos in April andSeptember 1960 to Grutas del Cocona, Tabasco. Theresults of these trips remain largely unpublished.In 1961 the distinguished American ichthyologist,Carl L. Hubbs, visited the marshes and springs in thevicinity of Cuatro Cienegas de Carranza, Coahuila.Among collections made in the Pozos de la Becerraon April 6 were specimens of the troglobitic snailCoahuilix hubbsi, described by Taylor in 1966.In November 1962 C. Bolivar y Pieltain and A.Urquijoi visited Grutas de Acuitlapan, Guerrerro.Their collections included the troglobitic pseudoscorpionAlbiorix bolivari Beier (1963).With the organization in 1962 of the SpeleologicalSurvey of Mexico in Austin, Texas, a new era in thestudy of the cavernicole fauna of Mexico was initiated.In November 1962 the first expedition of thenewly organized group (now called the Associationfor Mexican Cave Studies) was undertaken. A fewsmall collections in caves were made by the fourmembers of this expedition, T. R. Evans, T. W.Raines, ]. R. Reddell, and W. H. Russell. This materialincluded specimens of new genera and species ofisopod from Sotano de Huitzmolotitla, San LuisPotosi (Schultz, 1964), and milliped from Sotano delArroyo, San Luis Potosi (Causey, 1963). Because ofthe interest of this initial small collection, an activeprogram of collection and study of the cavernicolefauna of Mexico was initiated and continued to thepresent. It is impossible to recount in detail here thehistory of the work of the Association for MexicanCave Studies during the last 17 years. More than1000 species have been collected in more than 500caves during this period. The following account willemphasize only the more distinctive discoveries ofthis period.On March 2, 1963, W. H. Russell visited Cueva delCarrizal, Nuevo Leon, collecting among other speciesa new troglobitic hyid pseudoscorpion (Muchmore,1972a). On October 26 of the same year he also visitedCueva de la Porra near Xilitla, San Luis Potosi.This collection included specimens of a new genusand species of cambalid milliped (Causey, 1964a).The activities of the Association for Mexican CaveStudies increased in 1964 with explorations in thekarst areas of Tequila, Veracruz; Sierra de Guatemala,Tamaulipas; and Xilitla, San Luis Potosi. On June 2Terry Raines and William Bell entered a deep pit nearTequila, Sotano del Profesor, which was notorious forhaving been the disposal site for the body of a murderedschool teacher. Among the fauna collectedabout the remains of the unfortunate teacher was anew genus and species of carabid beetle (Barr, 1965).Also in June Larry Manire, David McKenzie, andJames Reddell visited what was to prove to be one ofthe more notable faunal areas in North America, theSierra de Guatemala, Tamaulipas. Among numerousspecies of troglobite were new species of gryllid(Hubbell, 1972), glomeroid milliped (Causey, 1964b),rhachodesmid milliped (Causey, 1971b), and pseudoscorpion(Muchmore, 1972a). In November explorationby Terry Raines and William Bell in one of thedeeper caves in North America, Sotano de Tlamaya,at Xilitla, resulted in the discovery of a new speciesof cavernicole earthworm (Gates, 1967). In additionto these visits to distinct karst regions, a trip by W. H.Russell to Cueva de los Riscos in Durango led to thediscovery of a troglobitic ricinuleid (Gertsch, 1971b)and spiders (Gertsch, 1971a).In January and June of 1965 David McKenzie,Orion Knox, and others continued work in the Sierrade Guatemala, most notably with the mapping andexploration of Sotano de la Joya de Salas. Two spe-8