Appalachian Cave Spider
Tolus appalachius Goodnight & Goodnight, 1942
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Chelicerata |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Opiliones |
| Family | Phalangodidae |
| Genus | Tolus |
| Species | Tolus appalachius Goodnight & Goodnight, 1942 |
Synonyms
- Phalangodes appalachia (Goodnight & Goodnight, 1942) (subjective synonym, CoL)
- Phalangodes appalachius C.J.Goodnight & M.L.Goodnight, 1942 (subjective synonym, GBIF)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Wonder Cave, Grundy Co. TN
Range
Known from nine counties across two states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Tennessee
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson
- Tennessee
- Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, Overton, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren
Karst regions
Interior Low Plateau
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 3 | 996-996 bp | GQ200385.1 |
| 28S | nuclear | 1 | 1149-1149 bp | GQ205647.1 |
4 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 4 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard | 2 |
2 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 2 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 2002.
Subnational ranks
- Alabama
- SNR Unranked
- Tennessee
- S3 Vulnerable
State and federal status
Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Other resources
References
- Dixon, G.B. & Zigler, K.S. 2011. Cave-obligate biodiversity on the campus of Sewanee: The University of the South, Franklin County, Tennessee. Southeastern Naturalist 10: 251–266. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41263008. details
- Engel, A.S. & Niemiller, M.L. 2024. The Southern Cumberland Plateau. In: Weaver, A. (ed), 2024 NSS Convention Guidebook: TAG Tour 2024, pp. 24–30. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama, USA.
- Goodnight, C.J. & Goodnight, M.L. 1942. New Phalangodidae (Phalangida) from the United States. American Museum Novitates 1188: 1–18.
- Hedin, M. & Thomas, S.M. 2010. Molecular systematics of eastern North American Phalangodidae (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores), demonstrating convergent morphological evolution in caves. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 54: 107–121. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.08.020
- Lewis, J.J. 2005a. A biological inventory of caves of the Cumberland Plateau. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 156 pp.
- Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
- Niemiller, M.L. & Zigler, K.S. 2013. Patterns of cave biodiversity and endemism in the Appalachians and Interior Plateau of Tennessee, USA. PLOS One 8: e64177. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064177
- Niemiller, M.L., Zigler, K.S., Hinkle, A., Stephen, C.D.R., Cramphorn, B., Higgs, J., Mann, N., Miller, B.T., Niemiller, K.D.K., Smallwood, K. & Hardy, J. 2023b. The Crystal-Wonder Cave System: a new hotspot of subterranean biodiversity in the southern Cumberland Plateau of south-central Tennessee, USA. Diversity 15: 801. doi:10.3390/d15070801
- Page, G. 2021. Troglofauna of Van Buren and White County: a survey of four caves in the mideastern Cumberland Plateau. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. 18 pp.
- Peck, S.B. 1989. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part I. The terrestrial invertebrates (excluding insects). National Speleological Society Bulletin 51: 11–33.
- Poulson, T.L. 1961. Cave adaptation in amblyopsid cavefishes. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. 185 pp. doi:10.7302/9847
This account was last revised 28 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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