154 Schiodte's Specimen 



additional confinement to stalactitic formations; as yet we are 

 not able rigorously to discriminate between the two. We sball 

 accordingly look upon the subterranean Fauna, or more properly 

 Faunas, as small ramifications which have penetrated into the 

 earth from the geographically-limited Faunas of the adjacent 

 tracts, and which, as they extended themselves into darkness, 

 have been accommodated to surrounding circumstances. Animals 

 not far remote from the ordinary forms, prepare the transition 

 from light to darkness. Next follow those that are constructed 

 for twilight ; and last of all those destined for total darkness, and 

 whose formation is quite peculiar. Among these, some are adapted 

 for special localities, those which inhabit dry localities or detached 

 little reservoirs being totally blind, while others, destined for run- 

 ning streams, have eyes of imperfect construction, so as to receive 

 the impression of rays of light, but no proper image of illumi- 

 nated objects. We may therefore with tolerable precision arrange 

 the inhabitants of caverns under the following heads : 



Shade- animals. — Extensive genera and species, inhabitingcaverns 

 near their entrance, and, generally, all cool, shady and moist loca- 

 lities. Of these, those that fly, occasionally enter far into the 

 caverns (Antliatd). 



Twilight' animals. — They belong to widely-spread genera, but 

 are peculiar to the caves, and distinguished by their small eyes. 

 They are principally found near the entrances to the caves, but 

 proceed deeper into the darkness than the shade-animals, and 

 although wingless, they penetrate often the whole extent of the 

 dark space. — (Pristonychus elegans, Homalota spelcea.) 



Cave-animals. — They form, at least in part, peculiar genera, 

 are wingless and colourless, as far as the consistency of their 

 integuments will admit, and exist exclusively in total darkness. 

 The terrestrial division is blind ; the aquatic has a perception of 

 light. To this group belong all the animals in the Mammoth cave, 

 and among those of the caves of Carniola Anophthalmus, Bathyscia, 

 perhaps likewise Amtrophorus and Hypochthon, which, however, 

 may belong to the following group. 



Stalactite-cave-animals. — Insects, Arachnidans and Crustaceans, 

 appertaining to peculiar genera, wingless, blind, brightly coloured, 

 according to the nature of their integuments, either light brown, 

 yellowish, white, or snow-white, perhaps according to the prepon- 

 derance of the Chitine ; living in total darkness, peculiar to sta- 

 lactite caves, in part occupying the columns and constructed 

 accordingly, either for ascent or hovering over them . Here belong 

 most of the animals treated of in this memoir, — Stagobius, Blothrus, 

 Stalita, Niphargus and Titanethes. 



