GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN THE CAVE BEETLE 
NEAPHAENOPS TELLKAMPFI 
(COLEOPTERA: CARABIDAE) 
By Thomas C. Kane 1 and George D. Brunner 
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati 
Cincinnati, OH 45221 USA 
Introduction 
More than 200 species of cave limited (i.e., troglobitic) trechine 
carabid beetles are known from caves of the eastern United States 
(Barr, 1979b, 1981). These species are generally considered to be 
derived from ancestral surface species which were widespread dur- 
ing the cold, moist climates associated with glacial maxima (Barr, 
1968). Subsequent warming and drying of these regions, as glaciers 
retreated, led ultimately to the extirpation of surface populations, 
with only some of the cave limited stocks surviving. Available evi- 
dence suggests that for trechines cave isolation is irreversible (Barr, 
1968, 1979a). Therefore, geographic spread of and gene flow in 
troglobitic trechines will be restricted to subterranean routes (Barr, 
1968). The interconnectivity of caves and the presence of geological 
barriers (e.g., noncavernous strata and large rivers) become impor- 
tant factors in determining the geographic extent of and degrees of 
gene flow within these troglobitic taxa. 
In extensive and highly continuous limestone cave systems, such 
as those of the Mississippian plateaus, interpretation of evolution- 
ary relationships between closely similar taxa becomes especially 
complicated (Barr, 1979b). One question which arises is whether 
such taxa represent multiple isolations of a common surface dwell- 
ing ancestor or are the product of more recent divergence in a 
common troglobitic ancestor. Even when the latter scenario appears 
to be the case, divergence may only involve subtle, although gener- 
ally consistent, differences in minor morphological characters. 
Thus, inferences about such factors as the amount of gene flow, if 
'Author to whom all editorial correspondence and reprint requests should be 
addressed. 
Manuscript received by the editor March 25, 1986. 
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