Trogloxenes or subtroglophiles, also called cave guests, are animal
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
which periodically live in underground habitats such as caves or at the very entrance, but cannot live exclusively in such habitats.
["Cave Plants and Animals". 9 December <>] Among many scientists, trogloxenes and subtroglophile have slightly different but closely related meanings, with the former covering species that are occasional visitors to underground habitat and the latter species that live more permanently there, but have to go outside (for example, to find food).
[ Both these are in contrast to ]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, which strictly live in underground habitats.[
Examples of trogloxene/subtroglophile species are bats, rats, ]raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight o ...
s and some opiliones
The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of ext ...
(this last group also has fully troglobitic species). Several extinct trogloxenes are known like cave bear
The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.
Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ''s ...
s, cave lions, cave leopards, and cave hyena
The cave hyena (''Crocuta crocuta spelaea''), also known as the Ice Age spotted hyena, was a paleosubspecies of spotted hyena which ranged from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Siberia. It is one of the best known mammals of the Ice Age and i ...
s. Indications trusted by geologists and archaeologists combine to show that these animals lived there in the latter part, at least, of the third interglacial
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene ...
epoch, and on through the fourth and last glacial advance, when, although central Europe was free from an ice cap, an almost Arctic climate prevailed, with much rain. This is what is known as the Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coi ...
when humanity in Europe was represented by the Neanderthals.
See also
*Stygofauna
Stygofauna are any fauna that live in groundwater systems or aquifers, such as caves, fissures and vugs. Stygofauna and troglofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean enviro ...
Notes
Cave animals
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