''Lygromma anops'' is one of only three known eyeless spiders in the superfamily Gnaphosoidea, and one of only two known

troglobite A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

s (cave species). It is found in

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock ( magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

caves on Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos. It is possible that ''L. anops'', like many inhabitants of lava caves, colonizes new caves through interconnecting cracks and crevices, and that these small spaces are in reality its main habitat. Males reach a body length of about 3.4 mm. ''L. anops'' seems to be closely related with '' L. senoculatum'', '' L. valencianum'' and '' L. huberti'' from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. ''

Lygromma gertschi ''Lygromma'' is a spider genus of Central and South America. There are species with eight, six (e.g. ''L. senoculatum'', ''L. valencianum'') and no eyes. The eyeless ''L. anops'' is endemic to Galapagos, while the not closely related blind ''L. ...

'', a blind, cave-inhabiting species from

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

is not a close relative of ''L. anops''.

References

* Peck, S.B. & Shear, W.A. (1987). A new blind cavernicolous ''Lygromma'' (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from the Galápagos Islands. ''Can. Entomol.'' 119:105-108. * Shear, W.A. & Peck, S.B. (1992). Male of the blind cave gnaphosoid ''Lygromma anops'' (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea, Prodidomidae) from Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. ''Journal of Arachnology'' 20:69-71
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Prodidominae Endemic fauna of the Galápagos Islands Spiders of South America Cave spiders Spiders described in 1987 {{Gnaphosidae-stub