Spelunking biologists have demonstrated that there are plenty of new things lurking where the sun doesn't shine -- in the caverns of the Sierra Nevada.
The scientists have discovered 27 new species of arachnids and other invertebrates -- including pill bugs, spiders and pseudo-scorpions -- in 30 caves at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Their findings were released this week.
"It's remarkable, really," Jean Krejca, an associate with a Texas environmental consulting firm and the principal investigator in the expedition, said Wednesday. "I think perhaps the most compelling thing about it is that it gives us the opportunity to ask and answer many evolutionary questions."
The creatures are unique not only because they are found only in caves. Some are found only in a single cave -- or even in a specific chamber of a particular cave.
Krejca and the other scientists found the critters during a biological inventory of the parks that was conducted for the National Park Service between 2002 and 2005. (...)
Full article: Click here
The scientists have discovered 27 new species of arachnids and other invertebrates -- including pill bugs, spiders and pseudo-scorpions -- in 30 caves at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. Their findings were released this week.
"It's remarkable, really," Jean Krejca, an associate with a Texas environmental consulting firm and the principal investigator in the expedition, said Wednesday. "I think perhaps the most compelling thing about it is that it gives us the opportunity to ask and answer many evolutionary questions."
The creatures are unique not only because they are found only in caves. Some are found only in a single cave -- or even in a specific chamber of a particular cave.
Krejca and the other scientists found the critters during a biological inventory of the parks that was conducted for the National Park Service between 2002 and 2005. (...)
Full article: Click here
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