Some annulariids dangle from the roofs of caves by threads of hardened
mucous. And Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is a great place to collect, at least
around the various openings. Finally, I have been IDing snails collected by
a graduate student doing research on cave fauna in the Great Smokies. All
sorts of species get in but so far nothing that doesn't occur outside as
well. But the question is how far do they get in? The mouths of caves are
generally moist and cool, supporting abundant snail-food. But deep inside I
would imagine the green food gives way to fungus. Anyone else know the
answer to this?



At 02:40 PM 03/30/2000 +0000, you wrote:
>I'd like to know if there are any known molluscan inhabitants of caves?
>i have heard there are some Clausiidae in Japaneese caves, but do not
>know if they just hang out near the entrance or not.  Can anyone
>enlighten the list and me on this topic?
>-Ross.
>--
>Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells:
>Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
>"We Specialize in the Unusual"
>Phone: (902) 876-2241; Fax: (603) 909-8552.
>But try to find "something for Everyone"!!
>Snail Mail: 349 Herring Cove Rd, P.O Box 20005, Halifax, N.S., Canada,
>B3R 2K9.
>
*****************************************
 G Thomas Watters, PhD
 Ohio Biological Survey &
 Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
 Ohio State University
 1315 Kinnear Road
 Columbus, OH 43212 USA
 v: 614-292-6170  f: 614-292-0181
******************************************

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