22nd International Conference on Subterranean Biology

The 22nd International Conference on Subterranean Biology will be held on 31 August to 5 September 2014 in Juriquilla, Querétaro, México. 

This meeting is held every two years and I believe this may be the first time it is held in Mexico. 

Juriquilla is about a 2-hour drive northwest from Mexico City and surrounded by beautiful and diverse karst and non-karst landscapes. 

Registration and more information for this conference is available at http://sistemas.fciencias.unam.mx/~22icsb/html/.

Amphipod Species Found In Larissa Cave

A new species of amphipod, unknown until today to scientists, has been found in the cave Melissotripa Elassonas in Larissa, in the region of Thessaly, after research that lasted two years.

The new organism was discovered by German and Romanian speleologists, led by the cavediver Markos Vaxenopoulos, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum of Volos.

The new species belongs to the genus Nighargus and lives exclusively in a small lake in the cave of Melissotripa. It plays a important role in speleogenesis and its identification was carried out on the basis of its morphological features and the DNA analysis.

According to ethnis.gr, except from this tiny species of amphipod, the researchers also observed in the cave Melissotripa that was first explored in 2007, an array of impressive stalactites and stalagmites, as well as bats.

The cave is easily accessible in its biggest part. However, there are bottlenecks and difficult passages. The temperature in the entrance of the cave reach about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and about 62 in the interior, where the humidity is 100 percent. There were three lakes in the cave, but now only one of them is left.

Federal Protections For Missouri Cave Fish and Habitat Open to Public Comment

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is considering an 18-year conservation project aimed at saving the grotto sculpin, a small fish found mostly in cave streams and only within Perry County, Missouri.

Sculpins, as a group, have flattened, scaleless bodies, small eyes, wide mouths, enlarged pectoral fins and large heads that tapers abruptly into a comparatively slender body, which measures approximately 2.5 to 4 inches.

The overall color of the fish, which lays about 200 eggs during the late winter-early spring spawning season, is light tan to bleached tan, with an unpigmented underside.

The wildlife agency says it will cost between $140,000 and $4 million to preserve the species, which was discovered by a college student back in 1991 and is currently not on the federal list of endangered species.

New cave-dwelling whip scorpion species found

Rowlandius ubajara (above) is one of two new cave-dwelling
whip scorpion species discovered in northeastern Brazil.

Two new species of short-tailed whip scorpions have been found living deep inside the cool, humid caves of northeastern Brazil, a study reports.

Whip scorpions are not true scorpions, but rather part of a group of arachnids that don't have stings and are not poisonous. They possess a whip-like tail, but look more like ants.

Previously, scientists thought whip scorpions came predominantly from the Caribbean. The new species, Rowlandius ubajara and Rowlandius potiguara, are some of the first from South America.

Cave Dwelling Nettle Discovered in China

Flowers of a new species from the nettle family known
only from caves, Pilea cavernicola, where it grows in very
low light conditions.

South West China, Myanmar and Northern Vietnam contain one of the oldest exposed outcrops of limestone in the world. Within this area are thousands of caves and gorges. It is only recently that botanists have sought to explore the caves for plants. This exploration is yielding many new species new to science, that are known only from these habitats.

The current study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Kew botanist and nettle expert Alex Monro says, "When my Chinese colleague Wei Yi-Gang from the Guangxi Institute of Botany first mentioned cave-dwelling plants to me, I thought that he was mis-translating a Chinese word into English. When we stepped into our first cave, Yangzi cave, I was spell-bound. It had an eerie moonscape look to it and all I could see were clumps of plants in the nettle family growing in very dark condition."

The plants do not grow in complete darkness but do grow in extremely low light levels, deep within the entrance caverns of the caves (sometimes, in as little as 0.04% full sunlight). The British and Chinese authors have been collecting plants from the Nettle family in this limestone landscape for several years and have just published a paper describing three new species, one from a cave and another two from deep gorges.

The cave-dwelling nettle species in question, was found growing in two caves in the Guangxi province of China. Of the species discovered in gorges, one is known from an unusual and striking rock mineral formation called petaloid travertine. Petaloid travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs that over time forms large petals of rock, in this case clinging to the vertical walls of a gorge.

These plants are members of a genus of Nettles known as Pilea, that is believed to have over 700 species Worldwide, up to one third of which may remain undescribed.

Journal Reference:
Alex Monro, Y.G. Wei, C.J. Chen. Three new species of Pilea (Urticaceae) from limestone karst in China. PhytoKeys, 2012; 19 (0): 51 DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.19.3968

Blind cave fish inspires sensing system for autonomous underwater vehicles

Ever wonder how fish can find their way around so easily in murky water? Well, most of them use something called their lateral line - a row of hair cells down either side of their body that detect changes in water pressure caused by movement, or by water flowing around objects. Now, scientists from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and MIT have copied the lateral lines of the blind cave fish, in a man-made system designed to allow autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to navigate more accurately and efficiently.

Ordinarily, AUVs use cameras, sonar, or an underwater acoustic positioning system. Cameras aren’t much use in murky water, however - and a lot of the world’s water bodies are murky. Sonar and acoustics are better in such situations, but the hardware can be expensive, and taxing on the AUV’s batteries.

Newly Discovered Cave Weta Species Endangered by Coal Mining

If you have seen any of Peter Jackson’s movies, such as this week’s release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, then you have probably noticed the logo for the special effects company Weta Workshop, which works on most of the director’s New Zealand-based projects. The workshop is named after a bunch of endemic New Zealand insects that look, at first glance, like crickets or grasshoppers on steroids. Weta consist of about 70 species of the largest and heaviest flying insects in the world. Some giant weta species — “very cool, prickly little monsters,” as Weta Workshop puts it — weigh in at up to 30 grams and boast bodily lengths of up to 10 centimeters.

A newly discovered member of the group—the Denniston white-faced cave weta—isn’t quite that big or monstrous. In fact, the scientists who found and tentatively named the species (it hasn’t been given an official taxonomic name yet) don’t know how big the species grows, because only juvenile insects were found. But they do know that its only habitat could soon disappear.

New Eyeless, Scaleless Cave Fish Discovered in Vietnam

A cave-dwelling fish with no eyes and no scales has been discovered on a tiny island in Vietnam's scenic Ha Long Bay, according to conservation group Fauna & Flora International.

The newly described fish, a type of loach, has been named Draconectes narinosus, which derives from the Greek words for dragon "drakon" and swimmer "nectes," as well as the Latin word "narinosus," which means "who has large nostrils."

Its lack of eyes and scales are actually common adaptations for animals that have evolved in the darkness of deep limestone caverns. Like other cave fish, D. narinosus is limited to a life in freshwater, which means it is likely confined to a system of subterranean caves on Van Gio Island, unable to swim out into the surrounding sea.

Huge arachnid with leg span of 33 cm found in Laotian cave

An enormous, new, leggy arachnid with a leg span just over 13 inches (33 centimeters) has been found lurking in the caves of the Southeast Asian nation of Laos.

The creature is a type of harvestmen, a group of arachnids colloquially called "daddy longlegs" and frequently mistaken for spiders. (The two animals are related, as both are types of arachnids.)

The species hasn't previously been described, according to a release announcing the finding.

The arachnid's super-long legs make it one of the largest harvestmen ever found. The record-holding species, from South America, has a leg span of 13.4 inches (34 cm), according to the statement.

The creature was discovered by Peter Jäger, an arachnologist at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. Jäger found the creature recently while in Laos to film a TV show, collecting spiders and arachnids in between shots.

After failing to identify the species himself, Jäger enlisted the help of a harvestmen expert who couldn't find any published description of the animal.

The researchers haven't named the new species yet, and hope to conduct a study of it to pinpoint its place in the harvestmen's evolutionary family tree.


Source: MSNBC

Three New Arthropod Species Have Been Found in the Maestrazgo Caves in Teruel

Pygmarrhopalites maestrazgoensis

A team of scientists from the University of Navarra and the Catalan Association of Biospeleology have discovered three new collembolan species in the Maestrazgo caves in Teruel, Spain. Their description has been published in the Zootaxa journal. These minute animals belong to one of the most ancient animal species on the planet.

The Maestrazgo caves in Teruel are located in a region of the Iberian Range where fauna has not been the subject of much study. It is a very isolated region since its average altitude is between 1,550 m and 2,000 m asl and its climate can be described as "almost extreme" experiencing temperatures of between -40°C and -25°C. Inside the caves, however, the temperatures remain constant at between 5°C and 11°C.

Endangered Spider Discovery Stops $15 Million Texas Highway Construction Project

While biologists may be rejoicing over the recent discovery of a rare spider that was thought to be extinct, not everyone is elated -- particularly commuters around San Antonio, Texas.

Workers found the Braken Bat Cave Meshweaver (Cicurina venii) spider, which hasn't been seen in three decades, in the middle of a $15.1 million highway construction project in northwestern San Antonio. The eyeless arachnid is on the endangered species list—since construction would disrupt the spider's natural habitat, the project has been halted for the foreseeable future.

Jean Krejca, a biologist and President of Zara Environmental who was consulting on the project, made the extraordinary discovery after a downpour of rain revealed a 6-foot deep spider hole. After dissecting the spider, a taxonomist later confirmed that the distinct-looking arachnid was, in fact, the Meshweaver, named for its pattern of webbing.

The Meshweaver was placed on the federal endangered species list in 2000, along with eight other spiders found only in the Texas county. George Veni first identified the spider in 1980 in a location five miles away from the construction site.

Four Hebrew U. researchers reach new lows in Abkhazia, and find new species of transparent fish

Boaz Langford of the Israeli cave exploration delegation
at a depth of 2,080 meters in the Krubera-Voronya cave in Abkhazia

Four researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem partook in a spelunking expedition to the deepest cave in the world, also known as the “Everest of the caves.”

The four explorers — Boaz Langford, Leonid Fagin, Vladimir Buslov and Yuval Elmaliach — joined the Ukrainian Speleological Association as part of an international delegation that aimed to break the world record for deepest place reached by spelunkers. On the team, which just returned from the trip, were members from nine countries, including Israel and Lebanon.

“The purpose of the venture was to break the world’s record for cave exploration — an achievement reached when a Ukrainian researcher reached a depth of 2,196 meters beneath the earth’s surface, five meters deeper than the previous record,” Professor Amos Frumkin of the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University, who heads the university’s cave research unit, said in a press statement on Sunday.

Eyeless cave fish oceans apart, but turn out to be cousins

This composite image shows Typhleotris pauliani (top),
a previously known species of Malagasy cave fish,
and a newly discovered pigmented species (bottom).

A group of freshwater fish in Madagascar and another in Australia have a lot in common. Both are tiny, have no eyes and live in the total darkness of limestone caves. Now scientists say these two groups are more alike than thought — they are actually each other's closest cousins, despite the ocean between them.

Using DNA analysis, researchers found that the two types of blind fish — Typhleotris in Madagascar and Milyeringa in Australia — descended from a common ancestor and were estranged by continental drift nearly 100 million years ago. The scientists say their finding marks an important first.

"This is the first time that a taxonomically robust study has shown that blind cave vertebrates on either side of an ocean are each other's closest relatives," researcher Prosanta Chakrabarty of Louisiana State University said in a statement. "This is a great example of biology informing geology. Often, that's how things work. These animals have no eyes and live in isolated freshwater caves, so it is highly unlikely they could have crossed oceans to inhabit new environments."

Scientists identify eight previously unknown species in underground cave near Ramle

Underground, beneath the surface of the Nesher quarry in Ramle, lies a cave with a vast array of calcite burrows, almost three kilometers long. For millions of years, the only sound interrupting the silence was the gentle scurrying of small, blind, colorless creatures, completely unaware of the world above them.

Before the quarry became active, the cave and tunnels were situated about 100 meters under ground level. In 2005, the first rays of light invaded the burrows, when a quarry bulldozer happened upon them. Scientists arriving at the scene, to research what they swiftly termed the "Ayalon Cave," discovered a unique form of life existing nowhere else on the planet: eight unknown species of crab, other arthropods and an eyeless scorpion.

The scientists shipped the creatures to labs throughout the world and now, six years on, the first part of the research is over, after most species were identified and described.

The scientists discovered an independent ecosystem in the underground cave that isn't based on photosynthesis. Since there was no light in the cave, or other known biological processes, the organisms in the cave were dependent on a process known as chimeotothropia which exists in other areas on earth, such as the bottom of the ocean.

New swimming cave cricket species filmed

A swimming cricket was one of three "new species" discovered by a TV crew filming in South America.

The "unbelievable" insect find was captured on camera along with a no-eyed harvestman and a cave catfish.

The trio were found in a remote Venezuelan tepui, a type of table-top mountain in the region.

"We've only named about a million species of insects and there are almost certainly five to eight million undescribed," said Dr George McGavin.

The filming was part of a new BBC/Discovery Channel/Terra Mater TV co-production called The Dark: Nature's Nighttime World.

"It swims underwater and uses its front legs as a proper breaststroke and its hind legs kicking out. It was just amazing," he said.

New beetle species found in remote Arizona cave

Eleodes wynnei

A newfound species of beetle has been discovered in remote caves in Arizona, boasting long antennae and slender legs with hairlike tufts.

The beetle, Eleodes wynnei, was named after its discoverer, Northern Arizona University researcher Jut Wynne.

Since 2005, Wynne and his colleagues have identified three new genera (the plural of genus, the taxonomic classification above species) and more than 20 new species of cave-dwelling arthropods in caves in the Grand Canyon region, according to a statement from Northern Arizona University.

He also discovered five new species from Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island and four new species at El Malpais National Monument in western New Mexico.

The newfound beetle occurs only in northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah. Wynne said the experience of having a species named after him is humbling, but he's most concerned with providing good science and guidance on managing and conserving cave resources.

"Caves are one of the most sensitive habitats on our planet," he said. "At the same time, given their location underneath our feet, these ecosystems have been overlooked from a resource management perspective."

Wynne said several parks and monuments on the Colorado Plateau are working to change this practice. His experience working on Easter Island has shown that native species may still persist despite the drastic changes to the island's ecosystem over the last several hundred years.

Source: MSNBC

Damaeus gevi n. sp., a new cave dweller species of oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida: Damaeidae) from Spain with camouflage of dead oribatid bodies adhering to exuviae

A new oribatid mite of the Damaeidae family, Damaeus gevi n. sp., from a cave in southern Spain, is described in the latest edition of the "Revista ibérica de Aracnología".

It is characterized by its long legs and by the remains of other dead oribatid mites adhered on its nymphal exuviae.

Microzetes mirandus (Berlese, 1908) is among these adhered oribatid, being its first record for Spain.

 Click here for the full article (Spanish)

Pearse Resurgence: Cave divers discovered three new species

Cave divers discovered several new species - a transparent amphipod, a worm, and a small snail -in the Pearse Resurgence, a system in the remote Motueka Valley on the South island of New Zealand near Nelson. Pearse Resurgence is connected to the Nettlebed Cave, a deep, extensive cave system in the Mount Arthur Range. It was thought to be the deepest cave system in the southern hemisphere until divers pushed deeper in the nearby Ellis Basin cave system during an expedition in April 2010.

"It's not easy to get inside the caves, and we want to know about the very specific life in them," says Dr. Graham Fenwick, a scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). "It's important to do an inventory of life in New Zealand, and in this case, it's a pretty special type of environment, and we don't have many limestone karst systems that are readily explored."

Worldwide, these aquifer studies are yielding rich troves of biodiversity. The importance of the stygofauna is twofold - they contribute to the health of the aquifer by biofiltration and in turn they may represent an important marker of the health of the water.

New species discovered in Portugese cave

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius)
tetrachelatus (Preyssler, 1790)

In the latest issue of the journal "Revista Ibérica de Aracnología" Dr. Juan Antonio Zaragoza of the University of Alicante describes a new species of the pseudoscorpion family Chthoniidae discovered in the Gruta do Fumo (Smoking Cave) in Portugal (Sesimbra).

The new species has been named Chthonius (Epphippiochthonius) cardosoi Zaragoza, after one of the collectors of this species, Dr. Pedro Cardoso (University of the Azores).

The creatures that time forgot

The cave amphipod norcapensis mandibulis, an endemic genus
known from only four caves at an altitude of about
200 metres in Cape Range, Western Australia.  

Beneath the very feet of Australians lives a mysterious group of animals known as stygofauna. Named after the River Styx, where dead souls cross from Earth to Hades in Greek mythology, these little creatures dwell in perpetual darkness, in groundwater, and were long thought to be rare in Australia. Only in the last two decades has the startling richness and strangeness of this subterranean life come to light.

''It's almost like when Captain Cook first reached our shores and saw kangaroos,'' say professors Craig Simmons and Peter Cook, of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. ''We're aware that these strange creatures exist but we are discovering new ones all the time, and we still know little of what they do.''

Simmons says: ''These little Australians are really just becoming known to science, and they continually surprise us with their diversity and quaint characteristics. So far as the public is concerned, we've barely begun to explore this fascinating underground world of curious creatures.''

Source: Canberra Times