94 
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Series 4, Volume 64, Supplement 1 
Lilbum (Table 22) has 71 species, 5 troglobites (1 single-site endemic) and ranks 5 th in cave bio¬ 
diversity in California. The cave is formed in marble (Fig 6) and has extensive roots growing in 
from the forest, especially at the lower resurgence (Big Spring) where submerged roots have cave 
isopods on them (Figs. 103-105), but also in the upper level Tree Root Room. The rich fauna 
includes 1 earthworm, 2 mites, 11 spiders (2 troglobites), 2 centipedes, 5 collembolans, 8 milli¬ 
pedes (2 troglobites), 1 bristletail, 15 beetles (none troglobitic), 8 dipterans, 1 new species of 
troglophilic grylloblattid, 2 hemipterans, 2 hymenopterans, 1 moth, 2 crickets, 1 stygobitic isopod, 
1 symphylan, a salamander, a rodent, and a terrestrial snail. 
To compare and contrast the fauna of the top 5 caves is challenging. They are quite different 
in their origins, elevations, and faunal make-up. Generally speaking there is only a small aquatic 
component in California caves, unlike many eastern U.S.A. caves. There is scant presence of crick¬ 
ets; some are in Samwel, Empire, Clay, and Lilbum, but none have yet been observed in Clough 
Cave. There is a diversity of collembolans, four to seven species in the top five caves, providing a 
good food base for micropredators. Other food inputs are varied, including roots (Figs. 97-101, 
104-105), feces (Fig. 106), amphibians and mammals, detritus with fungi (Figs. 106-108), and 
accidental invertebrates (Fig. 109), but these have only been quantified in Clough Cave. All are in 
forested or chaparral areas, which suggests important nutrient input from plant production and 
roots. However, interesting cavemicoles are now known from the Mojave Desert, presumably with 
few roots penetrating the caves. 
Aside from the Transplant Mine, an artificial environment, the leading high-biodiversity site 
of the SNN Region is Music Hall Cave, Calaveras County, providing another region for compari¬ 
son. The cave ranks 8 th in California for overall biodiversity, and it has 32 species, 6 troglobites, 1 
SST, and 2.21 SE score. The cave has 1 mite, 6 spiders (1 troglobite), 3 harvestmen (1 troglobite), 
4 pseudoscorpions (all troglobites), 3 centipedes, 1 springtail, 3 millipedes, 3 beetles, 1 fly, 1 moth, 
1 lacewing, 1 isopod, 1 bat, and 3 terrestrial snails. Roots protmde into the cave, as in Grapevine 
Gulch Cave, Calaveras County (also known as Hanging Gardens Cave). In adjacent Tuolumne 
County roots are seen in McLean’s Cave and Windeler Cave, both having rich faunas, and others. 
McLean’s Cave, Tuolumne County, before it was inundated, would have ranked tenth, and had 
98 species including 4 troglobites, the most species of any cave in California. That was partially 
the result of months of intensive collecting to rescue the cave community, which was doomed by 
inundation caused by constmction of the New Melones Dam. McLean’s fauna was moved to the 
Transplant Mine (Fig. 11), now ranked sixth in biodiversity, with 53 species, 7 troglobites, but a 
low SE of 1.35. McLean’s was remarkable for its species richness insofar as it lies at only 366 m 
elevation near the South Fork of the Stanislaus River, had been inundated in the past, but had no 
aquatic fauna. The cave was rich in river silt and roots. 
CONSERVATION 
Karst, lava field, and littoral caves are vulnerable to a diverse array of threats in California. 
The threats impact the caves and their faunas, and are primarily a consequence of high population 
density and the demands for water and food. This section will primarily concentrate on impacts on 
cave fauna, but direct impacts on caves are a related and important issue. 
Information in this paper expands the breadth of cave resources first compiled by Halliday 
(1962). Our annotated checklist (Appendix 1) and tables detail the diversity of the cave fauna of 
California and permit a comparison of the state’s cave fauna with other geographic areas. As we 
shall see in the discussion that follows, we believe that California now ranks about third among 
U.S. states in total number of obligate subterranean species. An appreciation of these factors under¬ 
scores the importance of efforts to preserve cave habitats and their faunas in California. 
