Several salamanders that primarily or exclusively inhabit caves have commonly been termed “cave salamanders”. With one highly notable exception, all are members of the family Plethodontidae ("lungless salamanders"). Some of these species and genera have developed special, even extreme, adaptations to their subterranean environments, such as an absence of eyes or pigmentation (e.g., Proteus anguinus, Eurycea rathbuni).
Contents |
The first intense and continuous scientific study of a cave animal was of a cave salamander, Proteus anguinus. It was originally identified as a "dragon's larva" by Janez Vajkard Valvasor in 1689. Later, the Australian naturalist Josephi Nicolai Laurenti described it scientifically in 1768.[1]
Another early scientific description of a cave salamander was performed by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1822 while he was a professor of botany and natural history at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. The species he described was known to the locals as a "cave puppet" and is now known to be Eurycea lucifuga. His discovery was not surprising at the time because E. lucifuga inhabits near the entrance of caves, thus an in-depth exploration was not required; and, E. lucifuga is neither blind nor depigmented.[1]
| This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. |