A Tri of “Tro”s (The 3 different types of cave wildlife)
Bluff Dwellers Cave has some pretty amazing geology and history, but our cave is full of life as well. Living amongst the fossils of prehistoric life are today’s cave dwelling animals that you may see in the cave. There are 3 different categories of animals that live in our cave, and today I am going to break it down for you so you know the difference.
Trogloxenes are animals that visit the cave, but do not live their entire lives in the cave. These animals typically need something from the surface and only spend time in the caves during certain seasons or weather patterns. Most people may think of bats as synonymous with permanent cave residents, but the truth is bats are only trogloxenes. They only live in the cave during certain seasons. The bats that live in Bluff Dwellers only use the cave during hibernation, or occasionally certain species of bats will use the cave as a maternity colony to nurse their young. This isn’t to say you might see a bat during the Summer….but it is pretty rare. In our cave the primary species of bat, the Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus), only lives in the cave during hibernation (Mid Fall to Early Spring). Our Pickerel Frogs (Lithobates palustris) are also trogloxenes, only visiting the cave to get out of extreme heat or cold. They live most of their lives in waterways on the surface.
Troglophiles spend a lot more time in the cave, but they are also known to live outside the cave just fine. Most of our salamanders would be considered troglophiles. Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga), Dark-Sided Salamanders (Eurycea longicauda melanoplura), Western Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon albagula) and Long-Tailed Salamanders (Eurycea longicauda longicauda) can spend their entire life cycle in the cave happily, but can also survive outside of caves in brooks or streams.
Troglobites are the TRUE cave dwellers. These are species of animals that are specially adapted to live completely in caves. If they were to leave the cave they would likely not survive. These species are very sensitive and are part of the reason that traffic to caves with species of concern is limited. It is also why we do not take our guests through the entire cave- Some of these species would simply cease to exist in Bluff Dwellers Cave if we went through the entire cave every day, with our lights introducing other organisms and species that shouldn’t be there. In Bluff Dwellers Cave we have two true troglobites: The Bristly Cave Crayfish (Cambarus setosus) & the Grotto Salamander (Eurycea spelaea). These two are albino in color, and live their entire life cycle inside the cave. If they were to leave the cave they would be easy targets for predation and wouldn’t last long. In fact, the Grotto Salamander is blind, with skin that has grown over it’s eyes because it no longer uses them.
To sum it up, there are THREE kinds of cave animals:
Trogloxenes (those that only visit the cave. Examples: Bats, Frogs)
Troglophiles (those that can live their entire life in the cave, but can also thrive on the surface. Examples: Most salamanders, cave crickets)
Troglobites (those that live exclusively in the cave, and would not survive outside. Examples: Bristly Cave Crayfish, Grotto Salamander)
Regardless of which “Tro” you see on a tour, they are all pretty cool to meet and likely spend a lot more time in a cave than you do. Maybe not more time than I do… but I suppose as a caver I am a special kind of creature. 🙂
-Nicole
Bluff Dwellers Cave Manager & Resident Caver/Geologist
