Cave thorn
Carychium stygium Call, 1897
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Gastropoda |
| Order | Basommatophora |
| Family | Carychiidae |
| Genus | Carychium |
| Species | Carychium stygium Call, 1897 |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Troglobiont
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Troglomorphy
- Troglomorphic
Distribution
Type locality
Mammoth Cave, Edmonson Co. KY
Range
Known from 24 counties across three states across two karst regions.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee
Counties
- Kentucky
- Allen, Barren, Edmonson, Edmonson Co, Hart, Jackson, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Simpson, Warren
- Tennessee
- Anderson, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Jackson, Knox, Loudon, Montgomery, Overton, Roane, Sullivan, Sumner, Van Buren, Warren
Karst regions
Appalachians, Interior Low Plateau
Genetics
Molecular resources
| Marker | Molecule | Sequences | Length | Exemplar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COI | mitochondrial | 6 | 616-649 bp | HQ171569.1 |
6 sequences, retrieved 23 August 2026. Counts change as sequences are deposited. Search GenBank.
Download all 6 sequence records (CSV) Accession, marker, molecule type, length, GenBank definition and a direct link.
Specimens
Type material
- Paratype
- 46538 · Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Collections holding material
| Institution | Lots |
|---|---|
| Field Museum of Natural History | 53 |
| National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution | 4 |
| Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt | 4 |
| Delaware Museum of Nature and Science | 2 |
| Carnegie Museum of Natural History | 2 |
| Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University | 2 |
| and 5 other collections | 5 |
72 cataloged lots in 11 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 72 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.
Conservation and management
NatureServe
G3 Vulnerable
Global rank last reviewed 9 November 2006.
Subnational ranks
- Kentucky
- S3 Vulnerable
- Tennessee
- 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
- Bailey, V. 1933. Cave Life of Kentucky. US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, DC, USA. 256 pp.
- Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
- Giovannoli, L. 1933. Invertebrate life of Mammoth and other neighboring caves. In: Bailey, V. (ed), Cave Life of Kentucky, pp. 600–623.
- Gladstone, N.S., Carter, E.T., McKinney, M.L. & Niemiller, M.L. 2018a. Status and distribution of the cave-obligate land snails in the Appalachians and Interior Low Plateau of the eastern United States. American Malacological Bulletin 36: 62–78.
- Harker, D.F., Jr. & Barr, T.C., Jr. 1980. Caves and associated fauna of the Western Kentucky coal field, Volume 2. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, Frankfurt, Kentucky, USA. 114 pp.
- Hubricht, L. 1962. New species of Helicodiscus from the eastern United States. The Nautilus 75: 102–107. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/8283022. details
- Hubricht, L. 1964. Land snails from the caves of Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. National Speleological Society Bulletin 26: 33–36.
- Hubricht, L. 1973. The land snails of Tennessee. Sterkiana 49: 11–17.
- Lewis, J.J. 2004. Interstate 66 karst faunal study. Environmental Impact Statement. 17 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. & Lewis, S.L. 2005. Inventory of the subterranean fauna of Tims Ford State Park, Franklin County, Tennessee. Tennesee Natural Heritage Program, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 28 pp.
- Lewis, J.J. & Lewis, S.L. 2007. A biological reconnaissance of selected caves in the Highland Rim area of central Tennessee. Tennessee Chapter Cave Program, The Nature Conservancy, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 42 pp.
- Lewis, J.J., Whitaker, J.O. & Krantz, G.W. 2010. A biological reconnaissance of the invertebrate fauna of twelve Tennessee caves with notes on the guanophilic mites of the genus Macrocheles. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 85: 53–61.
- 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
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.
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.