During a biological survey for a Southeast CASC-funded project seeking to understand variation in cave climates and species near forested and non-forested land, a research team discovered a new species of silverfish in Bobcat Cave in northern Alabama. The discovery, confirmed by genetic and morphological analyses, extends the known geographic range of cave-dwelling silverfish species to the southeastern US. Other species had previously only been found in caves further west – in the Ozarks, Texas, Mexico, and California. 

Silverfish ancestors were among the first primitive insects to move onto land about 400 million years ago. Unlike the species that often crawl through garages, basements, and kitchens, cave-dwelling silverfish lack eyes and body pigmentation, making them better suited for low-light cave environments.  

The finding serves as a reminder that there is still undiscovered biodiversity even in relatively well-explored areas, like these caves that are used often for recreation and tourism. Southeastern caves are also important for groundwater storage and as potential refuges for species seeking cooler and wetter temperature environments as aboveground surface temperatures change with climate. 

Insights from these Southeast CASC biological surveys will inform the development of a toolbox of possible management actions for conserving cave ecosystems and cave-dwelling species that are threatened by climate change. 

This research was supported by the Southeast CASC Project titled “Developing a Cave Conservation Management Toolbox by Exploring Cave Microclimates and Biodiversity Patterns.”