Stygofauna: Return to the Subterranean The last post I wrote was a piece on Troglobites (which can b

Stygofauna: Return to the SubterraneanThe last post I wrote was a piece on Troglobites (which can be found here: http://on.fb.me/1AnfDqN). A Troglobite is an animal that lives in a cave, which is adapted to it’s surroundings to the extent they cannot live on the surface. Today I shall discuss the other type of underground fauna, stygofauna.Stygofauna reside in fresh groundwater systems, such as caves in the subterranean environment. There are three types of stygofauna; Stygophiles, Stygoxenes, and Stygobites. Stygophiles inhabit both the surface and subsurface aquatic environments. Stygoxenes are occasionally found in subterranean water but are generally found above the surface. Finally, Stygobites are always found in underground waters.Stygofauna are named after the River Styx, which in Greek mythology was used by Hades to transport the souls of the dead. This could reflect the fact that subterranean water systems have a lack of food and oxygen, meaning Stygofauna must be adapted to cope with this. They are extremely energy efficient while feeding on plankton, bacteria, or plants with an extremely low metabolic rate. This low metabolism means that some species live longer than terrestrial species as reduced metabolism slows down growth, thus increasing age of maturity e.g. Orconectes australis (a crayfish) from Alabama which can live to 175 years old.The picture above shows Xibalbanus tulumensis (previously known as Speleonectes tulumensis). X. tulumensis is a pretty terrifying crustacean to come up against, with venom similar to that seen in rattlesnakes which includes a paralysing toxin. That said, panic is not required from humans as the species is only 25-30 millimeters long. Their feeding technique is an adaption due to their blindness (as they do not need sight in dark caves). Claws at the front of the specimen were noted by researchers to resemble hypodermic needles; on further inspection these were found to be linked to venom-filled reservoirs and are used to inject prey.~SAPicture: http://bit.ly/1cTpiuh Xibalbanus tulumensis by Joris Van der HamFurther Reading: http://bit.ly/1AqEaLn - A paper entitled ‘Stygobites are more wide-ranging than Troglobites’ by John Lamoreux. http://bit.ly/1PD9XzF - A paper on Xibalbanus tulumensis.[__](https://www.facebook.com/TheEarthStory/photos/a.352867368107647/878796538848058/?type=1&theater#) -- source link

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