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searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

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Cueva del Diablo near Orizaba, Veracruz; it remainsundescribed. Collections were made in one cave inCampeche and in about 40 in Yucatan. Attemptswere made to revisit as many of the caves studied byPearse in 1936 as was possible; numerous new cavesof great interest were also located. In addition tomore specimens of all of the troglobites previouslyreported and many new species of troglophile, collectionsincluded new blind spiders (Gertsch 1977b),shrimp (Hobbs and Hobbs, 1976), pseudoscorpion(Muchmore, 1977), and amphipod (Holsinger, 1977).Of particular interest were additional populations ofthe rare blind fish Typhliasina pearsei and Ophisternoninfernale.During July 1973 a visit to the Yucatan Peninsulawas made by Dr. Masaharu Kawakatsu, Robert W.Mite:hell, James Reddell, J. Mark Rowland, andothers. Collections were made in many caves and epigeanlocalities in the state of Yucatan.The Third Zoological 1ission to !\lexico sponsoredby the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei wasconducted from July 20 to October 11, 1973, hyValerio Sbordoni, Roberto Argano, Aldo Zullini,and Vincenzo Vomero. A total of 45 caves werevisited in several parts of Chiapas and adjacentHudlllrtenango, Guatemala. Among the morenotable rliscoveries of this expedition were newspecies of troglobitic stenasellid isopod (Argano,1(77), amphipod (Ruffo and Vigna TagJianti, ] 977),palat:monid shrimp (Holthuis, 1977), opilionid(Silhavy, 1977), and milliped (Shear, 1977a).In AUhrust 1973 David McKenzie, Roy .I arneson,and others made collections in several caVf:S in theRancho Nuevo region of :'-Juevo Leon and Tamaulipas.Among species of intnest were new, still undescribedspecies of trechine hectic and thr secondspecies of troglohitic catopid known from Mexico(Peck, 1977).In December 1973 Peter Sprouse, Peter Strickland,and others visited several cavrs ill the A1luismon regionof San Luis PotosI. Additional populations ofspveral troglobites and a stillundescrihed new speciesof t>nrlemic earthworm were found.From December 21, 197:1, to January 12, 1974,William Elliott, Bob Harr, Roy Jameson, DavirlMcKenzie, and James Reddell conductt:d biologicalinvestigations in the caves of the Zacapoaxtla­Cuetzalan area of Puebla, the Aeatlan region ofOaxaca, and the Soledad At7.0mpa anrl Cofre: de:Perote areas of Veracruz. Each area produced spl':riesof interest. Among many species discovered in theZacapoaxtla-Cuetzalan region were new crayfish(Hobbs, 1975), spiders, and millipeds (Causey,1975b). A return visit to Cueva del Nacimiento delRio San Antonio in Oaxaca resulted in the collectionof a new species of troglobitic cyphophthalmidopiliollid (Shear, 1977b), the first record <strong>for</strong> thissuborder in :\Iexico. Collections in the SoledadAtzornpa region included specimens of several raretroglobites also known from the Tequila regionbut also new species of spider and milliped. Finally,study of Cueva del Volcancillo, a lava tube on Cofrede Perote, was the first investigation of the biologyof a lava tube in :'.Iexico. Although not a cave wellsuited<strong>for</strong> fauna, Cueva del Volcancillo possessedmany species of interest, including troglohitic opilionids,millipeds, and trechine beetles. 1\']ost of theresults of this expedition remain unpublished.The caves of the Micos region and the Sierra deEl Ahra, San Luis Potosi, were biologically studiedfrom May 15 to June 8, 1974, by William Elliott,John Prentice, Carmen Soileau, and others. Theprimary emphasis was on obtaining specimens andother in<strong>for</strong>mation on Astyanax jordani.The members of the second expedition were AndyGrubbs, David McKenzie, James Reddell, and SuzanneWiley; Robert W. Mitchell, William Russell, andothers joined the expedition <strong>for</strong> part of the time.Their studies included the biological investigation offour caves in Tahasco, eight caves in Campeche, 14caves in Quintana Roo, and 13 caves in Yucatan. Inaddition to further delineating the ranges of manytroglobites, the expedition resulted in the discoveryof new species of blind spiders, amblypygid, andmilliped (Grubbs, 1975).The fourth expedition sponsored hy the AccademiaNar,ionale dei Lincei was conducted from July 30to October 20, 1975. The personnel on this expeditionwere Roberto Argano, Valerio Shordoni, VincenzoVomero, and Aldo Zullini. Thirty caves werevisited in Chiapas; studies of the phreatic biotopewere also made in Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana Roo,and Yucatan. Among the more significant discoveriesof this expedition were new species of troglobitieasellid isopod, am phipod, crab, and trechine beetle(Sbordoni et aI., 1977).In August 1975 Andy Grubbs, David \lcKenzie,and Suzanne Wiley made the first biological study ofcaves in the karst region of San Nicolas de los Montes,San Luis Potosi. Thpir most notable discovery was ofa new gfnus and species of troglohitic chactid scorpIOn.An ex pfdition in December 1973 hy DennisBarnes, Tom Byrd, l\lareia Cossey, Andy Grubb;;,Shari Larason, and Terry Sayther to the Acatlanregion, Oaxaca, included biological collfction;; inseveral caves. Their discoveries included a new speciesof blind diplorentrid scorpion, described by Francke12

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