Racovitza's Terrestrial Cave Isopod
Miktoniscus racovitzai Vandel, 1950
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Family | Trichoniscidae |
| Genus | Miktoniscus |
| Species | Miktoniscus racovitzai Vandel, 1950 |
Synonyms
- Miktoniscus oklahomensis Vandel, 1965 (subjective synonym, CoL)
- Miktoniscus racovitzai racovitzai Vandel, 1950 (subjective synonym, CoL)
- Miktoniscus racovitzai oklahomensis Vandel, 1965 (subjective synonym, CoL)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
- Maximum length
- 5 mm
Distribution
Type locality
Luray Caverns, Page Co. VA
Range
Known from 11 counties across three states in the Appalachians karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Kentucky, Oklahoma, Virginia
Counties
- Kentucky
- Scott
- Oklahoma
- Murray
- Virginia
- Alleghany, Bath, Botetourt, Louden, Page, Rockbridge, Scott, Shanandoah, Shenandoah
Karst regions
Appalachians
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 20 |
20 cataloged lots 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 20 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G3G4 Vulnerable to Apparently Secure
Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Virginia
- S2 Imperiled
Ranks looked up 23 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Other resources
References
- Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
- Vandel, A. 1950. Isopodes terrestres recueillis par C. Bolivar et R. Jeannel (1928) et le Dr. Henrot (1946). Archives de Zoologie Experimentale et Generale 87: 183–210.
- Vandel, A. 1965. Les Trichoniscidae cavernicoles (Isopoda Terrestria; Crustacea) de l'Amérique du Nord. Annales de Speleologie 20: 347–389.
This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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