18 
John R. Holsinger and David C. Culver 
Virginia. — Bland Co.: Newberry-Bane Cave. Frederick Co.: Ogdens 
Cave. Lee Co.: Cliff and Smiths Milk caves. Russell Co.: Banners 
Corner Cave. Wise Co.: Rocky Hollow Cave. 
Comments. — These records are based on juveniles or poorly 
preserved specimens of which specific determinations could not 
be made. 
Family Planariidae 
Phagocata gracilis (Haldeman) (TP or TX) 
Virginia. — Russell Co.: Banners Corner Cave. 
Phagocata morgani (Stevens and Boring) (TP or TX) 
Virginia. — Giles Co.: Starnes Cave. Tazewell Co.: Fallen Rock and 
Hugh Young caves. 
PHYLUM ANNELIDA 
All segmented worms recorded from caves in Virginia and east 
Tennessee are in the class Oligochaeta and belong to the orders 
Branchiobdellida, Haplotaxida, Lumbriculida, and Tubificida. The 
records given in the list below are based on either literature references 
(e.g., Gates 1959) or selective collecting and by no means represent an 
exhaustive survey. 
The branchiobdellids occur as epizoites on freshwater crustaceans, 
and all species recorded from caves in the study area were taken on the 
troglophilic crayfish Cambarus bartonii s. lat. (see Holt 1973). The 
occurrence of these species in Appalachian caves is probably largely 
accidental, inasmuch as they are generally widespread in epigean habitats 
and are transported into caves secondarily by their crayfish hosts. 
The haplotaxids include several species of terrestrial and semi- 
terrestrial “earthworms” that are probably initially introduced into 
caves in mud or silt washed underground by flooding or filtration. 
However, many of these species probably exist in caves as trogloxenes, 
or even as troglophiles, under certain conditions. All of the haplotaxids 
listed below are also reported from caves elsewhere in the eastern 
United States (see Gates 1959, Franz and Slifer 1971, Cook 1975, 
Holsinger et al. 1976, Peck and Lewis 1978). 
Of greater interest zoogeographically are the “thread-like” 
lumbriculid worms, of which all three species found to date are 
apparently troglobites with narrowly defined ranges. These worms have 
been collected from the gravel substrate of small streams, but only after 
diligent searching. In comparison with Europe, the North American 
cavernicolous lumbriculid fauna is very poorly known (Cook 1975). 
Although they have been observed in several study-area caves, 
tubificid worms remain poorly known to date. An undetermined genus 
and species of the family Enchytraeidae has been collected from the 
stream in Fallen Rock Cave in Tazewell County, and Tubifex tubifex 
