Nickajack Cave Isopod
Caecidotea nickajackensis Packard, 1881
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum | Crustacea |
| Class | Malacostraca |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Family | Asellidae |
| Genus | Caecidotea |
| Species | Caecidotea nickajackensis Packard, 1881 |
Synonyms
- Conasellus nickajackensis (Packard, 1881) (prior combination, CoL)
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Stygobiont
- Realm
- Aquatic
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Nickajack Cave, Marion Co. TN
Range
Known from 11 counties across seven states in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia
Counties
- Alabama
- Jackson
- Arkansas
- Benton
- Georgia
- Dade, Thomas
- Kentucky
- Barren, Hart
- Missouri
- Phelps
- Tennessee
- Hamilton, Marion
- Virginia
- Scott, Tazewell
Karst regions
Interior Low Plateau
Specimens
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Field Museum of Natural History | 4 |
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 4 |
| Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard | 1 |
9 cataloged lots in 3 collections. 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 9 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
VU Vulnerable D2
Assessed in 1996.
NatureServe
G1 Critically Imperiled
Global rank last reviewed 19 October 2021.
Subnational ranks
- Alabama
- SNR Unranked
- Georgia
- SNR Unranked
- Tennessee
- S1 Critically Imperiled
- Virginia
- S1 Critically 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
- Banta, A.M. 1907. The fauna of Mayfield's Cave. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 67: 1–114. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/60987. details
- Coleman, W.T. & Zigler, K.S. 2015. The rediscovery of Caecidotea nickajackensis in Tennessee and Alabama. Speleolobiology Notes 7: 10–13.
- Cooper, J.E. 1968a. The salamander Gyrinophilus palleucus in Georgia, with notes on Alabama and Tennessee population. Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science 39: 182–185. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54954393. details
- Cope, E.D. & Packard, A.S. 1881. The fauna of the Nickajack Cave. American Naturalist 15: 877–882.
- 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.
- Hay, W.P. 1901. Two new subterranean crustaceans from the United States. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 14: 179–180. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2339123. details
- Hay, W.P. 1902a. Observations on the crustacean fauna of Nickajack Cave, Tennessee, and vicinity. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 25: 417–439. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.25-1292.417
- Lewis, J.J. 1988. The systematics, zoogeography and life history of the troglobitic isopods of the Interior Plateaus of the eastern United States. University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. 281 pp.
- 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.
- Lewis, J.J. 2009a. On the identity of Caecidotea nickajackensis (Crustacea: Isopoda: Asellidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 122: 215–224. doi:10.2988/08-47.1
- Lewis, S.L., Lewis, J.J. & Orndorff, W. 2021. Caecidotea burkensis, new species, a unique subterranean isopod from Burke’s Garden, with a synthesis of the biogeography and evolution of southwestern Virginia asellids. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 83: 78–87. doi:10.4311/2020LSC0126
- 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
- Steeves, H.R. 1964. The troglobitic asellids of the United States: the hobbsi group. The American Midland Naturalist 71: 445–451. doi:10.2307/2423303
- Steeves, H.R. 1966. Evolutionary aspects of the troglobitic asellids of the United States: the hobbsi, stygius and cannulus groups. The American Midland Naturalist 75: 392–403. doi:10.2307/2423400
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
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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