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(A.) speLaeus, from Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, Guerrero.They concluded that these differences are a resultof the degree of energy input into the respectivecaves. Peck (1977a) has discussed alternatives to theirconclusions.Family LimnichidaeSpecimens of this family have been collected fromseveral caves in San Luis Potosi and Tabasco and apparentlybelong to at least two species of troglophile.They remain unstudied.Family PselaphidaeThe family Pselaphidae is among the principalgroups contributing to the troglobitic and troglophilicfauna of the United States, but it is rarely collectedin Mexican caves. A few species, including membersof the genera Cerocerus and Reichenbachia, havebeen collected, but all await study.Family PtilodactylidaeThe family Ptilodactylidae is represented in cavesin Mexico by at least one probable new species of thegenus Ptilodactyla. This troglophile has been found incaves in Guerrero, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi,Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.Family PtinidaeTwo species of spider beetle have been found inthe caves of Mexico, one of which is a possible troglobite(see Fig. 82). The other species, Niptus abstrususSpilman, is known only from caves in Texas (U.S.A.)and Coahuila and Durango, Mexico (Ashworth,1973). The eyes in this species are somewhat reducedbut less so than in N. absconditus. In addition to thetwo cavernicole species from Mexico and Texas, thegenus Niptus includes three species in orth America.One of these is a nearly cosmopolitan stored productpest, one is an inhabitant of mammal nests in thesouthwestern United States, and the third (N. abditusBrown) is a cavernicole known only from SpiderCave, Utah.Niptus absconditus SpilmanNiptus absconditus Spilman, 1968:194, 196, 197­198, fig. 1-3; Reddell, 1971b:65; Reddell, 1973a:36,41.Type-Iocality.-Grutas de Xoxafi, Hidalgo, Me­XICO.Distribution.-Known only from the type-locality.See Fig. 82.Discussion.-This species possesses the smallesteyes in the genus and is known only from the mostremote sections of Grutas de Xoxafi. Whether it is atroglobite or not is speculative, but it is included herebecause the species is doubtless in the process of becomingadapted to the cave environment.Family ScarabaeidaeSeveral species of scarab beetle have been collectedfrom caves, but most are probably accidentals. Thegenus Onthophagus, however, is a frequent contributorto the cave fauna of Mexico. These beetles areusually found in bat guano and are probably troglophiles.Onthophagus incensus Say was found in Sotanode Tlamaya, San Luis Potosi; O. cuevensis wasrecently described from caves in San Luis Potosi andTamaulipas (Howden, 1973); O. Landolti Harold hasbeen found in Cueva del Ojo de Agua Grande, Veracruz;and O. vespertilio was described by Howden,Cartwright, and Halffter (1956) from Gru ta de Acuitlapan,Guerrero, and has also been found in Gru tasdel Mogote, Guerrero. See Fig. 82 for the distributionof Onthophagus in Mexican caves.Family ScydmaenidaeThe family Scydmaenidae is well represented inthe caves of Mexico and Guatemala where it apparentlyreplaces the Pselaphidae as a major element ofthe small beetle fauna. Franz (1977) described twocavernicole species of scydmaenid from Mexicancaves: Scydmaenus teapanus from Grutas del Cocona,Tabasco; and Euconnus (Madagassoconnus) arganoifrom Cueva del Muju, Chiapas (see Fig. 83). Bothappear to be troglophiles. Species of the genus Scydmaenus(s. str.) have been collected in caves in Izabaland Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, and in Veracruz andOaxaca, Mexico. Euconnus (? Drastophus) n. sp. hasbeen collected from bat guano in Cueva del Ojo deAgua de Tlilapan, Veracruz. Several species of Euconnus(Napochus) have been collected in caves inAlta Verapaz, Guatemala, and in Campeche, Oaxaca,Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz, Mexico.Their ecological status is uncertain, but at least somespecies are presumed troglophiles. An undescribedspecies of Euconnus, possibly belonging to a newsubgenus, has been collected in Sotano del Leon,Tamaulipas. It is a highly attenuate form and maybe a troglobite.Famity StaphylinidaeThe family Staphylinidae has made a major contributionto the Mexican cave fauna, and at least 34species have been found. Many of these are known230