Invertebrate Cave Fauna 
43 
Kleptochthonius (C.) sp. B (TB) 
Virginia. — Augusta Co.: Madisons Saltpetre Cave. 
Comments. — This population represents an undescribed species 
(see Muchmore 1970b). 
Kleptochthonius (C.) spp. 
Virginia. — Lee Co.: Elys Moonshine and Molly Wagle caves. 
Comments. — Specimens from these caves are juveniles (deutonymphs 
or tritonymphs), therefore precluding specific determination. 
Mundochthonius holsingeri Benedict and Malcolm (TB) 
Virginia. — Shenandoah Co.: Helsley Cave (type locality). 
Family Neobisiidae 
Microcreagris valentinei Chamberlin (TB) 
Virginia. — Lee Co.: Cudjos Cavern (type locality). 
Family Syarinidae 
Chitrella cavicola (Packard) (TP or TX) 
Virginia.— Rockingham Co.: Endless Caverns (type locality). 
Chitrella superba Muchmore (TB) 
Virginia. — Shenandoah Co.: Maddens Cave (type locality). 
Subclass Acari 
Although ticks (Ixodida) are occasionally transported into caves by 
bats or pack rats, most cavernicolous acarines are mites. Several families 
of mites have been recorded from caves in Virginia and east Tennessee, 
including Laelapidae and Parasitidae in the order Parasitiformes and 
Eupodidae and Rhagidiidae in the order Acariformes (see Holsinger 
1965a). Aside from Rhagidiidae, however, the taxonomy and ecology of 
cave-associated mites is very poorly known. Rhagidiid mites are relatively 
common in caves, and to date four genera and five species have been 
recorded from the study area (Fig. 16). In caves these mites are usually 
found in mesic areas beneath rocks or decomposing organic detritus. 
The family is primarily edaphic; although many species are reported 
from caves in the Northern Hemisphere, only a few appear to be bona 
fide troglobites (Zacharda 1980). The possession of troglomorphisms 
and restriction to caves are criteria used by Zacharda (1980) and 
Zacharda and Elliott (1981) to distinguish troglobites from troglophiles 
and trogloxenes. In the Virginia-east Tennessee cave-mite fauna, two 
species are possibly troglobitic, whereas three are probably troglophilic. 
The most common cave mite in Virginia is Robustocheles hilli (Fig. 
19c), an apparent troglophile, which is also recorded from many caves 
in the eastern and western United States (Zacharda 1985) and from 
epigean habitats in Alaska and northern Canada (Zacharda 1980, 
Zacharda and Elliott 1981). Poecilophysis weyerensis (formerly Rhagidia 
weyerensis ) was originally described from Grand Caverns by Packard 
