searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

Although a few caves in the Northern Section havebeen well studied, many ranges remain unvisited.Very little is known of the caves and cave biologybetween Monterrey and the Purificacion region orbetween Xilitla and Jalapa. The Low Ranges and theCross Ranges remain virtually unknown.Hennanas, Coahuila.-This is a poorly definedregion located near the small town of Hermanas.Cueva de la Herradura is the only cave with studiedinvertebrate fauna. This small, dry bat cave is locatedin a small outcrop of limestone in the plains in frontof the main ranges of the Sierra Madre Oriental. Notroglobites are known among the 10 species reported.The fauna is typical of that of the arid parts of northernMexico and includes the filistatid spider Filistatoidesn. sp., the pholcid spiders Physocyclus hoogstraaliGertsch and Davis and Psilochorus sp., thedermestid beetle Dermestes carnivorus Fabricius, andthe tenebrionid beetles Alphitobius laevigatus (Fabricius)and Cryptoglossa mexicana mexicana Champion.Monclova, Coahuila.-This region is located to thewest of the town of Monclova. The only cave that hasbeen studied is Bocas del Carmen, a small shelter-likecave located on the cliffs overlooking the highway toCuatro Cienegas de Carranza. The cave is dry andgenerally unproductive biologically. The only speciesso far identified is a camel cricket of the genus Ceuthophilus.Sierra de las Animas, Coahuila.-The Sierra de lasAnimas is an isolated range formed of Cretaceouslimestone east of Monclova. The only cave known isCueva de las Animas at an elevation of 760 meters.It has been extensively mined for phosphates andnow consists of one large dry room with a few smallmoist alcoves. :\0 troglobites have been found in thecave. The troglophile fauna is typical of that of northernMexico and includes three troglophilic spiders:the filistatid Filistatoides n. sp., the pholcid Physocyclushoogstraali Gertsch and Davis, and the scytodidLoxosceles belli Gertsch. The only other nonguano-associatedtroglophile known from the cave isthe gryllid cricket Paracophus subapterus Chopard.Sierra Arteaga, Coahuila.-The Sierra Arteaga islocated east of the town of Arteaga: it comprisesCretaceous limestone of the Aurora and Cupido Formations(de Cserna, 1956). The only cave that hasbeen studied in the region is Gruta de Cuevecillas,which is an elongated chamber subdivided by formationsinto smaller "rooms." The cave is moist only inthe lower sections. Of the 17 species recorded fromthe cave none are troglobitic and several are apparenttroglophiles. These include the agelenid spider Tegenariagertschi Roth, the filistatid spider Filistatinellacrassipalpis Gertsch, the pholcid spider Metagoniacoahuila Gertsch, the collembolan Pseudosinellareddelli Christiansen, the psocid Psyllipsocus ramburiiSelys-Longchamps, and the carabid beetle Rhadinerotgeri (Bolivar and Hendrichs). This fauna istypical of that of the northern High Sierra.Sierra de Mayrim, Coahuila.-The Sierra de Mayninis an east-west trending range of mountains to thesouth of the now-dry Laguna de Mayran. It is formedof Cretaceous limestone of the Aurora Formation (deCserna, 1956). Only four small caves, all at the northernbase of the range at an elevation of about 1,150meters, have been investigated. These caves areformed by the solution of gypsum beds in the limestoneand are very dry. No troglobites are known, buteight species of troglophile and trogloxene have beenidentified. The fauna, which is typical of the aridregions of northern Mexico, includes spiders of thegenera Filistatoides (Filistatidae) and Physocyclus(Pholcidae) and tenebrionid beetles of the generaCentrioptera, Cryptoglossa, and Eleodes.Sierra de Santa Rosa, Coahuila.-The Sierra deSanta Rosa is located east and north of Musquiz.It is a southern extension of the general uplift tenninatingin Mexico in the Sierra del Carmen and Serraniasdel Burro. The geology of the northern part ofthe Sierra de Santa Rosa has been discussed bySmith (1970). Only two caves in this region havebeen investigated with respect to their invertebratefauna. Cueva del Leon is a horizontal bat cave containinga large population of the Mexican freetailbat Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana (Saussure). Itsinvertebrate fauna includes species typical of freetailbat caves. The only troglophile known from the caveis the pholcid spider Physocyclus enaulus Crosby, aspecies abundant in northern Mexico and the southwesternUnited States. The only other cave studiedis the natural well Pozo de El Potrero to the east ofMusquiz. It is inhabited by a spider of the pholcidgenus 1Hetagonia and by the troglobitic ictaluridcatfish Prietella phreatophila Carranza. a speciesmost closely related to blind catfish from CentralTexas.Ciudad Lerdo, Durango.-This is a poorly definedregion which includes several arid mountain ranges tothe south of Ciudad Lerdo. The geology of this regionhas been discussed by Kellum (1936). The principalcavernous deposits are Cretaceous formations ofAptian-Albian limestone. The only cave which hasbeen examined for its invertebrate fauna is Cueva delGuano, located in the Sierra de la Espana. This rangeis near the western limit of the Cross Ranges of theSierra Madre Oriental. Cueva del Guano is a largehorizontal cave inhabited by several species of bat,25