#troglobites

[biology-geology-beaches-india]

The Scientific Research Notes of S. Sunkavally. Years 1986 - 1990.

Page 120.

[face-without-a-heart]

Itty bitty cavefish sketch

[earthstory]

Troglobites_: Creatures of the Cave

Troglobites are generally small creatures which are adapted to live in caves. These adaptations are so extreme that these creatures are unable to survive on the surface, and thus spend their entire life in caves. For example, due to the dark nature of caves eyes are not used; many Troglobites, therefore, have underdeveloped eyes which may even be covered with skin. Darkness also removes the need for camouflage colouring animals on the surface may have, as such many Troglobites are albino. As seen in the photo, the Titanophyllum spiriarum is a species of millipede which is a Troglobite. This species was discovered in 2011 in Greece, has no eyes, and has a very palely pigmented body. Other Troglobites include the White Cave Velvet Worm, the Alabama Cave Shrimp, and the Beauty Rat Snake.

Due to Troglobites sedentary lifestyle they do not need much food to survive and thus gain most food from scavenging. Examples of food sources for Troglobites include plant debris, bacteria and animal faeces (such as bat guano – the excrement of cave-dwelling bats). So far 7700 species of Troglobites have been discovered; however, biologists believe this number is not nearly at its maximum due to the number of caves yet to be explored or even discovered at all.

It should be noted that bats are not Troglobites but are Trogloxenes instead (animals that use caves but only for a short period e.g. overnight or to hibernate in over winter).Trogloxenes include birds, snakes and insects. There are also Troglophiles which spend part/ all of their life in caves; however, these species differ as they are not adapted to permanently living in caves so still maintain vision and pigmentation.

The first examples of Troglobites were discovered in Slovenia in the 1600s when heavy rain flooded caves and flushed out flesh-coloured creatures that were up to 10cm long with flat heads. At the time, this caused much hysteria as locals believed these were underdeveloped baby dragons.

~SA

Picture: http://bit.ly/1JDBKv2 by P Stoev, N Akkari and H Enghoff. Further Reading: http://bit.ly/1cQ5iZl - The paper on T.spiriarum’s discovery

[biology-geology-beaches-india]

The Scientific Research Notes of S. Sunkavally. Years: 1986 - 1990.

Page 118.

[mizelaneus]

[normal-newt]

Limestone caves are super cool? Like rain is just so strong it can dissolve the stone? And the water slowly drips it into new shapes? And little secret friends like remipedes and cave snails in them? Secret cave crayfish? Amazing.

[cromlyngames]

Troglobites

Fingertip Fungal Farming.

In Troglobites, players take on roles as mushroom gardeners in the deep dark cave. Every turn you rummage through the great rubbish heap, bringing home prize mushrooms (or perhaps nasty pests).

Each turn, you are offered 4 mushrooms pieces, picked blindly from the central heap by the previous player. You must choose three to keep and one to discard. Each type of mushroom/pest has a tastiness value, and a placement rule. You are trying to grow the tastiest mushroom garden. After a player fills the central hexagon of their garden, the game enters the final round, ending when it returns to that player.

The pieces are deliberately textured, and the rules suggest that on the 2nd or 3rd game players should be blindfolded, relying on their fingertips to ‘see’.

Back to choices.

Designer’s Notes.

The Good

No direct competition or confrontation. The game suits those who prefer to avoid cut-throat aggressive games, or just fancy a palette cleanser.

The Bad

Little interaction between players outside of turn.

The Clever

The aim is for instructions to also be available in Braille or on mp3. The game should be completely blind player friendly.