65.4 - Troglobiont invertebrate caves

Classification des habitats du Paléarctique (2001)

Description

Caves harbouring communities that include no troglobiont amphibians or fish, but include troglobiont invertebrates, limited worldwide to a relatively small number of species belonging to a limited number of groups, and including remarkable relict species. In the Palaearctic region, the majority are situated in the northern Mediterranean basin and the peri-Pontic region. Gastropoda, Opiliones, Chilopoda (Lithobiidae), Collembol, Coleoptera (Bathysciinae and Trechinae subfamilies) among the terrestrial faunas, Turbellaria, Gastropoda and Urodela, among the aquatic faunas, are characteristic of their communities, and essentially restricted to caves of temperate regions.

Bibliography

Devillers P., Devillers-Terschuren J. & Vander Linden C., 2001. PHYSIS Palaearctic Habitat Classification Database. Updated to 10 December 2001. Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles, Bruxelles. (Source)

Thinès and Tercafs, 1972; Ginet and Decou, 1977; Vornatscher, 1979; Neuherz, 1979; Cei & al., 1982: 26-31; Culver, 1986; Aljancic, 1993; Leser, 1994; Celhar, 1997; Mrsic, 1997.