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Glossary aquatic - an aquatic plant or animal mascot - an animal, person, or thing adopted by a group as a representative symbol terrestrial - living on or in the ground; not aquatic isopod - any fresh, marine, or terrestrial crustacean of the order isopoda, having seven pairs of legs adapted for crawling and has a flattened body copepod - any marine or fresh water crustaceans of the subclass copepoda that has an elongated body and a forked tail http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/xtremelife/images/snotties.jpg

Cave Creatures Troglobites, Troglophiles, Trogloxenes     A copepod in habitat. http://www.treehugger.com/Deep-Sea-Census-BeyondSunlight09-golden-copepod.jpg   Isopod specimen http://www.perhapanauts.com/blog/uploaded_images/GiantIsopod-764949.jpg Troglobites, trogloxenes , troglophiles!! This is not gibberish. These are names of different categories of terrestrial cave animals and bacteria. Then we have stygobites, stygophilies, and stygloxenes. These animals and bacteria are a bit different, they live in water. They are aquatic. There are a lot more, like extremophiles. These little organisms live in harsh environments like glaciers, swamps, and volcanoes. They can not be seen with the naked eye so you need a microscope. You might think that living in a cave habitat can be rather difficult, and indeed it is. Trogloxenes that you might know are: bats, bears, foxes, and raccoons. Bats are the most common trogloxenes, and have become a cave mascot. Trogloxenes can live above ground, or below ground. They are cave visitors. Troglophiles are animals that can go either way, they can live in a cave or outside of a cave. Many of these will be insects like: crickets, centipedes, and some salamanders. These can be called cave lovers.    Troglobites are true cave dwellers. Most troglobites have special adaptations that help them adjust to life in complete darkness. Some troglobites have poor eye sight or have no eyes at all. They can sense vibrations or moving objects with their very long and sensitive antennas. They are also able to hear, smell, and feel as well.  Troglobites are pale, white, or transparent. Because of this, troglobites can not come in contact with sunlight because the results can prove to be fatal. Some examples of troglobites are blind flatworms, eyeless shrimp, isopods, and copepods.  A cave can be a habitat for many  interesting life forms. These life forms have adapted to their lives below or above the surface. These living creatures make the world a more interesting place to be.