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

Franz's Cave Isopod
Caecidotea franzi (Holsinger & Steeves, 1971)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Malacostraca
Order Isopoda
Family Asellidae
Genus Caecidotea
Species Caecidotea franzi (Holsinger & Steeves, 1971)

Synonyms

Asellus franzi Holsinger & Steeves, 1971

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygobiont
Realm
Aquatic
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Millers Cave, Centre Co. PA

Range

Known from four states across two karst regions.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 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, Other

Specimens

Type material

Holotype
USNM 135261 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Allotype
USNM 135262 · National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Collections holding material

InstitutionLots
National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution 15

15 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 15 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G2G4 Imperiled to Apparently Secure

G1G2▲G3G4▲G5

Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.

Subnational ranks

Kentucky
SNR Unranked
Maryland
S1 Critically Imperiled
Pennsylvania
S1 Critically Imperiled
West Virginia
S1 Critically Imperiled

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

Threats

  • Recreational/Commerical Cave Activities
  • Pollution -Sewage or Urban Wastewater
  • Pollution - Commercial/Industrial
  • Pollution - Agricultural & Forestry

Other resources

Catalogue of Life
P7PW
GBIF
2205860
ITIS
92738
iNaturalist
215637

How to cite this account

Caecidotea franzi (Holsinger & Steeves, 1971). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1222. https://cavebiology.org/species/caecidotea-franzi/ (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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