World_of_Animals_Issue_46_2017

The Arachnocampa
luminosa glowworm is
endemic to New Zealand
and can be found in many
of the country’s caves
Cave wildlife
from around
the world
The species that have adapted
to life in different types of cave
Tardigrades
These microscopic
organisms are able
to survive in freezing
glacier caves, withstand
temperatures below
freezing and even cope
in outer space!
Glowworms
Glowworms use their
bioluminescent tails to
attract prey, which then
gets stuck in their sticky
feeding lines. Damp, dark
caves are therefore the
perfect habitat.
Olms
These blind aquatic
salamanders have lived in
Croatia and Slovenia for
over 20 million years. They
have heightened smell and
hearing and can detect
electric and magnetic fields.
Springtails
This wingless insect has
no eyes and largely lives
off a diet of fungi. It’s the
deepest land animal ever
found, living at depths of
1,980 metres (6,500 feet)
below the surface.
“The deepest part of
a cave is known as
the dark zone. It’s
home to troglobites”
Large mammals
While fossils of some
bear, lion and leopard
species suggest they
once inhabited caves for
long periods, today, large
mammals mainly use caves
as a temporary shelter.
Ostracods
These tiny crustaceans can
live in caves flooded with
freshwater or saltwater
They have adapted to
dark, oxygen-depleted
environments by swimming
slowly to preserve energy.
© Alamy/Moritz Wolf; Nature Picture Library/Alamy
Fracture Talus Eolian Anchialine
Layers of more soluble
minerals located between
layers of less soluble rock
are dissolved by acidic
groundwater, leaving behind
deep fractures.
The openings that
form between
large boulders that have
fallen into a heap at the
base of cliffs are known
as talus caves.
Common in deserts,
these caves are
formed by winds
blowing fine sand
against a rock face,
eroding the surface.
Typically found
along coastlines,
these flooded caves
contain a mixture of
both fresh water
and salt water.
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