alastairgott
Well-known member
no didn't find anything! too wet. would have liked to go down dan-yr-ogof but again was too wet!
What I have seen on my trips (Troglobites; updated post-trips)
- Thread starter alastairgott
- Start date
richardg
Active member
If anyones interested
This Wendsday whilst exploring a new river cave in the Amazon rain forest.
There was a profusion of creatures encountered.
There were small pink and brown crabs living in small pools and a multitude of gigantic spiders that ran up and down the cave walls, these were generally two to four inches in diameter all with scarily looking pincher adaptations.
There were many bats these had two foot wing spread and sometimes made screeching calls as they swooped towards us.
Also three inch diameter black star shaped web creatures, nothing like We'd seen before.
At the top of one forty foot climb I was confronted by a two inch albino scorpion, even sat in front of the computer now it still sends shudders through me.
Quite scary at times.
Pioneering new caves is of course exhilarating, however it can be very draining nervously when encountering such creatures as these for the first time.
But wow what an adventure!
This Wendsday whilst exploring a new river cave in the Amazon rain forest.
There was a profusion of creatures encountered.
There were small pink and brown crabs living in small pools and a multitude of gigantic spiders that ran up and down the cave walls, these were generally two to four inches in diameter all with scarily looking pincher adaptations.
There were many bats these had two foot wing spread and sometimes made screeching calls as they swooped towards us.
Also three inch diameter black star shaped web creatures, nothing like We'd seen before.
At the top of one forty foot climb I was confronted by a two inch albino scorpion, even sat in front of the computer now it still sends shudders through me.
Quite scary at times.
Pioneering new caves is of course exhilarating, however it can be very draining nervously when encountering such creatures as these for the first time.
But wow what an adventure!
alastairgott
Well-known member
any piccys?
don't like the sound of the albino scorpion
don't like the sound of the albino scorpion
We found creepy worms that look like those things that crawl down to your feet then have to be excized...happens in like Africa a lot or something. Wasnt them it just looked like them. Twighlight zone of a pit. Any takers on what it is? No one has known thus far:
Hand is for scale. Yes they did move. Very slowly. But they did. About 1-2mm diameter, round bodies, varying from about 10-18 inches (that's uh, about 24 - 45cm)
Fountain Pit 06 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
Another angle sans hand
Fountain Pit 05 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
Hand is for scale. Yes they did move. Very slowly. But they did. About 1-2mm diameter, round bodies, varying from about 10-18 inches (that's uh, about 24 - 45cm)
Fountain Pit 06 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
Another angle sans hand
Fountain Pit 05 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
kay
Well-known member
No replies yet, so -
the oligochaetologist that I share the house with says they're not oligochaetes (earthworm family) but suggests:
"I recall there is a relative of the Nematodes of about this size - they occasionally come to the surface when water or urine is poured onto soil.
IIRC they are commonly called hair worms or Gordian worms (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematomorpha and http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/horsehair_worms.htm)
They can grow very long and are parasitic, usually in insects and crustaceans."
See if you reckon this fits the bill.
the oligochaetologist that I share the house with says they're not oligochaetes (earthworm family) but suggests:
"I recall there is a relative of the Nematodes of about this size - they occasionally come to the surface when water or urine is poured onto soil.
IIRC they are commonly called hair worms or Gordian worms (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nematomorpha and http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/horsehair_worms.htm)
They can grow very long and are parasitic, usually in insects and crustaceans."
See if you reckon this fits the bill.
Close but I dont think right...sorry forgot that one was suggested before. Firstly they were white/extremely close to white, and the links say they are usually in the tan/brown range. Secondly...in the closeup file (at least on wiki) it shows one end kinda "frayed" and another "pointed". There was no head/tail distinction on these dudes. Unless they are somehow gone trobalytic (or whatever that word is) but that doesnt make sense as the pit where these were was still in sunlight (full natural light on the bottom of the pit). The thing they reminded us most look-wise was of a Guinea worm except wrong continent to be that.
Kenilworth
New member
Very old post and Amy probably has her answer by now, but...
These are, by all appearances, Horsehair worms. An identical query of my own was answered by an accomplished and second-generation cave biologist. Since then, I have seen many specimens, including those emerging from their hosts, which, in caves, seem most commonly to be crickets. Every example I've seen has been pure white, and I've been unable to distinguish head from heels with raw eyeballpower.
These are, by all appearances, Horsehair worms. An identical query of my own was answered by an accomplished and second-generation cave biologist. Since then, I have seen many specimens, including those emerging from their hosts, which, in caves, seem most commonly to be crickets. Every example I've seen has been pure white, and I've been unable to distinguish head from heels with raw eyeballpower.
mrodoc
Well-known member
Amy said:We found creepy worms that look like those things that crawl down to your feet then have to be excized...happens in like Africa a lot or something. Wasnt them it just looked like them. Twighlight zone of a pit. Any takers on what it is? No one has known thus far:
Hand is for scale. Yes they did move. Very slowly. But they did. About 1-2mm diameter, round bodies, varying from about 10-18 inches (that's uh, about 24 - 45cm)
Fountain Pit 06 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
Another angle sans hand
Fountain Pit 05 by Sunguramy, on Flickr
I should think it is a terrestrial relative of this beastie: http://www.britishmarinelifepictures.co.uk/football-jersey-worm-tubulanus-annulatus