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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaArthropodaHexapodaInsectaDipteraSphaeroceridaeSpelobia

Cave dung fly
Spelobia tenebrarum (Aldrich, 1897)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Hexapoda
Class Insecta
Order Diptera
Family Sphaeroceridae
Genus Spelobia
Species Spelobia tenebrarum (Aldrich, 1897)

Synonyms

Limosina stygia Coquillett, 1897
Limosina tenebrarum Aldrich, 1897

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglobiont
Realm
Terrestrial
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Wyandotte Cave, Crawford Co. IN

Range

Known from 13 states across three karst regions.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia

Counties

County-level records have not been compiled for this taxon. Distribution is recorded at state and karst-region level.

Karst regions

Appalachians, Interior Low Plateau, Ozarks

Specimens

Type material

Lectotype
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 1

1 cataloged lot in 1 collection. Compiled from GBIF and not an exhaustive census: many collections are not yet digitised, and holdings are added continually. Search GBIF for specimen records.

Download all 1 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G5 Secure

G1G2G3G4G5▲

Global rank last reviewed 2010.

Subnational ranks

Alabama
S2 Imperiled
Arkansas
SNR Unranked
Georgia
SNR Unranked
Illinois
SNR Unranked
Indiana
S5 Secure
Kentucky
S3 Vulnerable
Missouri
SNR Unranked
New York
SNR Unranked
Oklahoma
S1 Critically Imperiled
Pennsylvania
SNR Unranked
Tennessee
S4S5 Apparently Secure to Secure
Virginia
S1 Critically Imperiled
West Virginia
SNR Unranked

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
4YHLX
GBIF
1589729

How to cite this account

Spelobia tenebrarum (Aldrich, 1897). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0914. https://cavebiology.org/species/spelobia-tenebrarum/ (accessed 3 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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