Fauna

Animal life found in or near caves

Introduction

Page created 09/01/2012 - 12:47, updated 09/01/2012 - 12:48

Whilst searching the online and published literature for cave references I have read many papers by biologists, mainly describing new species that had been captured in Thai caves. In the majority of these papers the information required to be able to locate these caves is very poor and without good knowledge of either the region or the caves you would struggle to find the places mentioned.
 
Having accurate and precise data for where specimens were collected is important because
a) obtaining further or newer specimens from the type locality may be neccessary for taxonomic work on the species.
b) unless the cave from which a species has been identified is precisely known it is difficult to conserve the species or identify threats to its habitats.
I hope to post here a series of short notes identifying the locations from which various groups of cave animals have been recorded.

The Distribution and Type Localities of Thai Cave Fauna: Part One: Millipedes

Page created 09/01/2012 - 08:48, updated 09/10/2013 - 09:04

 
This first part covers the millipedes that have been identified and described from Thai caves. It has been updated in October 2013 to include the Trachyjulus species.



Cave millipedes in CM0208 Tham Luang Mae Sap, Chiang Mai


Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Haplodesmidae
 
Eutrichodesmus cavernicola (Sinclair, 1901)
 
The two type localities are YA0007 Tham Mued (Gua Glap); Yala: Muang: Ban Na Tham: Wat Tham Khuha Pimak N06.528051° E101.226280° altitude.: 71m and YA0040 Tham Gua Tanan; Yala: Muang
 
 
Eutrichodesmus gremialis (Hoffman, 1982)
 
The type locality is CM0174, an unnamed cave in the Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, but the co-ordinates in Enghoff (2005) place the cave at the edge of the hills to the east of Chiang Dao town.
Deharveng & Bedos (2000) record that the species has also recorded from CM0001 Tham Chiang Dao: Chiang Mai: Chiang Dao: Wat Tham Chiang Dao: Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary N19.393904° E098.927781° altitude: 460m
 
 
Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae
 
Desmoxytes purpurosea Enghoff, Sutcharit & Panha, 2007
 
The type and only known locality is in the doline at UT0038 Tham Tham Hup Pa Tard: Uthai Thani: Lan Sak: Khao Pla Ra Non-hunting Area N15.375530° E099.630716° altitude: 115m. It has not been recorded from underground.
 
 
Tylopus bispinosus Likhitrakarn, Golovatch, Prateepasen & Panha, 2010
 

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