All cave animals and organisms fit into three categories. Placement into these categories depends on how much time the organisms actually spend in the cave.
The first type is known as Trogloxenes. You can think of trogloxenes as cave visitors. They come and go at will, but use the cave for specific parts of their life cycle (hibernation, giving birth, etc.) Although it spends specific parts of its life in the cave, it will never spend a complete life cycle in the cave. Examples of animals that are All cave animals and organisms fit into three categories. Placement into these categories depends on how much time the organisms actually spend in the cave.
The first type is known as Trogloxenes. You can think of trogloxenes as cave visitors. They come and go at will, but use the cave for specific parts of their life cycle (hibernation, giving birth, etc.) Although it spends specific parts of its life in the cave, it will never spend a complete life cycle in the cave. Examples of animals that are trogloxenes are:
-Bats
-Bears
-Skunks
-Raccoon
-Moths (sometimes)
Troglophiles are the next level. These are organisms that survive outside the cave, but may prefer to live outside of it. They leave the cave only in search for food. A troglophiles can chose to live its entire life either inside or outside of a cave. Some examples of trogphiles are:
-Beetles
-Worms
-Frogs
-Salamanders
-Crickets
-Spiders
-Crayfish (sometimes)
Troglobites are animals that live in the cave but do not come out. They often have physical adaptions to the cave life like no vision, or loss pigment because light does not reach this part of the cave. Examples would be
-Snails that have thin white shells and small eyes
-Blind cave fish which has no eyes and no color
-Kauai Cave Wolf Spider which also has no eyes.
Bats are not true troglobites because they only use the cave for sleep, hiding and reproduction. There is about 50 000 troglobites in the world. are:
-Bats
-Bears
-Skunks
-Raccoon
-Moths (sometimes)
Troglophiles are the next level. These are organisms that survive outside the cave, but may prefer to live outside of it. They leave the cave only in the search for food. A troglophiles can chose to live its entire life either inside or outside of a cave. Some examples of trogphiles are:
-Beetles
-Worms
-Frogs
-Salamanders
-Crickets
-Spiders
-Crayfish (sometimes)
Troglobites are animals that live in the cave but do not come out. They often have physical adaptions to the cave life like no vision, or loss of pigment because light does not reach this part of the cave. Examples would be
-Snails that have thin white shells and small eyes
-Blind cavefish which has no eyes and no color
-Kauai Cave Wolf Spider which also has no eyes.
Bats are not true troglobites because they only use the cave for sleep, hiding, and reproduction. There are about 50 000 troglobites in the world.
