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searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

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Speodesmus, an undescribed homopteran belongingto the family Kinnaridae, the leiodid beetle Ptomaphagus(Adelops) troglol1lexicanus Peck, and thecarabid beetles Antro<strong>for</strong>ceps bolivari Barr, lHexaphaenopsintermedius Barr, and Platynus (Mexisphodrus)profundus (Barr). All of the troglobitesappear to be typical elements of the fauna of theSierra Madre Oriental.The aquatic troglophile fauna includes the dugesiidflatwoml Dugesia guatemalensis, the hyalellidamphipod Hyalella azteca (Saussure), the dytiscidbeetle Hydroporus belfragei Sharp, and the characinAstyanax mexicanus (Hubbs and Innes). The flatwormis endemic to the Sierra de Guatemala, but theremaining species are widespread.The terrestrial troglophile fauna contains an estimated83 species, a number of which are possibly endemicto the Sierra de Guatemala. It is not possibleto do more than mention some of the lllore distinctiveor important species here. Endemic species includethe syarinid pseudoscorpion Pachychitra similisMuchmore; the a~elenid spitler Cicurilla (C'icurusta)iviei Gertsch; the mysmenid spider JIaymena griseaGertsch: the pholcid spiders Coryssocnelllis clarusGertsch, Metagonia capil/a Gertsch, JI. secretaGertsch, 11'1. suzanne Gertsch. and J/. IIlckenzieiGertsch: the c1eidogonid milliped Cleidogona crystal/inaShear; the pyrgodesmid millipeds Myrmecodesmuscomutus (Shear), M. egenus (Causey). M.errabundus (Shear), and M. gelidus (Causey); thesphaeriodesmid milliped Sphaeriodesmus nortoniShear; the gryllid cricket Paracoplzus reddeUi Hubbell:and the staphylinid beetle Stenopholea reddelliHerman.Several troglophiles are known only from theSierra de Guatemala and Sierra de EI Ahra. Theseinclude the schizomid Schizomus mexiCQllUS Rowland,the amblypygid Paraphrynus pococki :'Ilullinex. thescytodid spider Loxosceles valdosa Gertsch, and thecarahid beetle Pachyteles urrutiai Bolivar. Amongmore widespread troglophiles mention may he madeof the agelenid spider Tegenaria selva Roth, thectenid spider Ctenus mitchelli Gertsch, the mysmenidspider 1Haymena chica Gertsch, the nesticid spidersEidmannella pal/ida (Emerton) and Caucelmus augustinusKeyserling, the pholcid spiders Coryssocnemisabernathyi Gertsch and Modisimus reddelli Gertsch,the tetrahlemmid spider Matta sbordonii (Brignoli),the opiJionid Cynorta jamesoni Goodnight and Goodnight,the collemholans Pseudosinella reddelli Christiansenand Acherontiella sabina Bonet, the gryllidcrickets Paracophus apterus Chopard and P. placonotusHubbell, the leiodid beetles Dissochaetus aztecusSzymczakowski and Ptomaphagus (Adelops) elabraPeck, the scarabaeid beetle Onthophagus cuevensisHowden, and staphylinid beetles of the genera Belonuchus,Homaeotarsus, Philonthus, and Stilicolina.Tula, Tamaulipas.-This ill-defined region is locatedsouthwest of Tula and comprises an area ofgypsum karst. The one cave studied in the region isat an elevation of 1,030 meters and is <strong>for</strong>med in] urassic gypsum. The only two species thus far identifiedare both troglophiles common in this part ofl\lexico: the carabid beetle Rhadine rotgeri (Bolivarand Hendrichs) and the staphylinid heetle Stilicolinan. sp.Villa Hidalgo, Tamaulipas.-This poorly definedregion is located to the north of the Rio Blanco inthe mountain~ west of Villa Hidalgo. The only cavethat has been visited is Cueva de la Virgen. a smalltwo-room cave about 60 meters in length and heavilypoilu ted. ~o troglobites are known from the regionand only three species, all probable troglophiles,have heen identified: the nesticid spider Eidmannellapal/ida (Emerton), the endemic gryllid cricketParacophus sanctorum Hubbell, and the alleculidheetle llymenorus sp.Gulf Coastal LowlandThe G ul I' Coastal Lowland province is a generallylevd plain extending from Texas to the YucatanPeninsula. It is broken in two places, first near Jalapawhere the Neovolcanic Plateau reaches the coast andfarther sou th by the Volcanes de los Tux tlas. AlcortaGuerrero (1966) includes only the area north of thel\l~ovolcanic Plateau in this province and places thesuuthem portion in a separate province. '\[ost of the"ulf Coastal Lowland is covered by non-cavernousdeposits, but one major and several smalll~r range~ ofCretaceous limestone arc exposed. The most extl~nsiveof these is the Sierra de Tamaulipas to the eastof Cilldad Victoria. Other smaller ranges such as theCerro el Aire and the Sierra de San Carlos also oceurin this area. :\[lIir (1936) has discussed the geology ofthis region. With the exception of one cave in theCerro eI Airc and three in the Sierra de Talllalllipas,this province remains unknown with respect to itsinvertebrate cave fauna.Cerro el Aire, Tamaulipas.-The Cerro el Aire islocated in the vicinity of the town of Abasolo immediatelynorth of the Sierra de Tamaulipas. The onlycave which has been visited is a small vertical pit,Sotano de Abasolo. Only two species of spider havebeen identified; one of these, the scytodid /'oxoscelessp., is an apparent troglophile.Sierra de Tamaulipas. Tamaulipas.-This range ofCretaceous limestone extends north-south <strong>for</strong> about100 kilometers. It is hounded on the Jlorth by the38

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