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searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

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part of the aquatic fauna. A very large population ofan undetermined species is present in Grutas de SanJose, Campeche. In addition to the free-living speciesothers are known to be parasites of snails and fishes.Order ArhynchobdellaeFamily ErpobdeUidaeThe predaceous leech Erpobdella triannulataMoore was reported from Cenote Xtolok, Yucatan,by Moore (1936).Order RhynchobdellaeFamily GlossiphoniidaeGlossiphonia magnidiscus was described by Moore(1938) from Cenote de Sambula, Motul, Yucatan. Itwas a parasite of the pimelodid catfish Rhamdia guatemalensisdecolor Hubbs.Family IchthyobdeUidaeCystobranchus sp. was reported by Moore (1936)to be a parasite of R. guatemalensis decolor in Cenotede Sambula. It is also known from open-air cenotes innorthern Yucatan.Family PiscicolidaePiscicola platense Cordero is a parasite of R. guatemalensisdecolor in Cenote de Sambula (Motul) andCenote de Sambula (Merida), Yucatan (Moore, 1938).Phylum MolluscaClass GastropodaThe snail fauna of <strong>Mexican</strong> caves is poorly knowndespite the fact that 82 species have been identified(see Table 9). Many of these are known only frompaleontological and archeological excavations, anddoubtless were washed or carried into the caves.Other species are known only from open-air cenotesin Yucatan (Bequaert and Clench, 1933, 1936, 1938)and are not a part of the true cave fauna. The onlypossible troglobite is an aquatic species of the familyHydrobiidae. The absence of terrestrial troglohiticsnails from caves in Mexico is not unexpected. Noterrestrial snails are troglobites in caves in Texas orother states of the southwestern United States. Terrestrialsnails are also rare in the troglobitic fauna oftropical caves in general, although species of the genusOpeas with reduced eyes have been describedfrom caves in Assam and Malaya.Order ArchaeogastropodaFamily HelicinidaeThis is the only family of archaeogastropod snailrepresented in the <strong>Mexican</strong> cave fauna. Ceres nelsoniDall and Helicina chrysocheila Binney are knownfrom caves in the Xilitla and Aquismon regions, SanLuis Potosi. The <strong>for</strong>mer specip.s is a conspicuous elementof the entrance area fauna and is presumably atrogloxene. Oligyra arenicola (Morelet) has been collectedfrom several caves in Yucatan. The other speciesof this family are known only from single caveseach and are of uncertain status.Order MesogastropodaFamily CyclophoridaeAlthough several species of this family have beenfound in caves, most were dead. The only importantspecies is the troglophile Neocyclotus dysoni berendti(Pfeiffer), which is known from numerous cenotesand caves in Yucatan (Bequaert and Clench, 1936,1938).Family HydrobiidaeThis family of aquatic snails includes two speciesassociated with the subterranean habitat. Bequaertand Clench (1936, 1938) reported the presence ofPyrgophorus coronatus (Pfeiffer) in several caves inTable 9.-Summary of cave inhabiting Gastropoda.ArchaeogastropodaHelicinidaeMesogastro podaChondropomidaeCyclophoridaeHydrobiidaePilidaePomatiidaePotamididaeThiaridaeBasommatophoraAncylidaePhysidaePlanorbidaeStylommatophoraAchatinidaeCharopidaeEndodontidaeFerussaciidaeFruticicolidaeHelminthoglyptidaeOrthalicidaePolygyridaePupillidaeSpiraxidaeUrocoptidaeXanthonychidaeZonitidaeTotalTroglobitesooo1oooooooooooooooooooo1Other Species81311313145912113712126148178

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