18 
MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 
LURAY CAVE. 
This well-known cave we visited in June, 1880, a year after the cave had been discovered and 
before the present hotel had been built. It had, however, been opened, and the plank walks and 
fresh stair-ways, with other improvements, and the beaten tracks, made it unfavorable for collect¬ 
ing cave life, which is much less abundant than in Weyer’s Cave. It contains pools of water* and 
numerous dripping stalactites. The temperature of Diana’s Bath is 52° Fahr.; that of the air 
is 54° Fahr. 
FAUNA OF LURAY CAVE. 
Zygonopus whitei Ryder. Not infrequent. 
Camlala annulata (Say). Found dead and encrusted with lime. 
Linyphia weyeri Emerton. Differed only from the type specimens in having rather smaller eyes. 
Anophthalmus tenuis Horn. (Hubbard.) 
NICKAJACK CAVE. 
This cave is situated near that point of the southern boundary of Tennessee where it is joined 
by the line which separates the States of Georgia and Alabama. In dimensions it ranges with the 
Mammoth and Wyandotte Caves of Kentucky aud Indiana. Many miles of galleries have been 
explored, and no end has yet been reached. The entrance is in the northern side of a hill, not far 
from the road that passes on the south side of the “ bottom ” of the Tennessee River. It is of much 
more imposing proportions than that of either of the caves already mentioned. The visitor climbs 
the hill from the road, following a path which leads along the high bank of a considerable creek. 
The entrance has a wide floor, which is cut by a gorge at one side, through which the stream just 
mentioned issues. The roof is flat, and is overhung by vegetation. The following pages record 
the results of two collecting expeditions made there by Professor Cope. 
Near the mouth of the cave a salamander of the genus Plethodon was found, which is very 
peculiar. Instead of the black color, with or without pale bluish dots of the P. glutinosus, the sides 
and back are thickly spotted with large, yellowish-green blotches of irregular form, producing 
an effect something like the coloration of the Mexican Spelerpes leprosus. The dorsal spots are 
much larger than the lateral, and are often confluent. On the head they almost exclude the 
ground color. In addition to this color peculiarity, the feet differ from those of the P. glutinosus 
in the rudimental character of the inner digit both anteriorly and posteriorly. It is represented 
by metapodial bones only, having no phalanges. There are thirteen costal folds, one less than in 
P. glutinosus , and the vomerine teeth do not extend beyond, or even to, the internal nares. The 
tail is round and rather slender. Length to axilla, .020; to groin, .051; to end of tail, .122™. 
This species is about the size of the P. glutinosus , aud, as it is distinct from it, we propose that it 
be called Plethodon ceneus Cope. 
In company with it was found the smaller P. einereus. Then there was a small scorpion ;_a 
Polydesmus, and some other centipedes, and a beetle like Scarites, but larger than the common 
northern species. Snails, as in other limestone regions, are abundant. 
On entering the mouth of the cave abundant traces of former human habitation are found. 
These consist principally of charcoal and remains of shells—as Ios and Unios, from the Tennessee 
River, brought there by the Indians as food. The creek was formerly dammed at this point aud 
supplied water to a mill at the mouth of the cave. This was grinding the grain of the neighborhood 
at the time of the first visit, but had disappeared by the second. Fishing was attempted from this 
point far into the depths of the cave. The results were chiefly Crustacea, which are described 
below. No blind fishes were seen or taken, but some fishes of the outer world were caught at a 
point where a very little light from the mouth was distinguishable. These were the common blob 
(Potamocottus meridionalis) and sucker ( Gatostomus teres). 
* One of the distinguishing peculiarities of Luray Cavern is the existence of these limpid pools, hundreds of them, 
varying in size from a diameter of 6 inches to one of 50 feet (Hovey, p. 18‘2). They seem to be wholly uninhabited. 
(Page 184.) 
