Alabama Cave Beetle
Pseudanophthalmus alabamae Valentine, 1932

Taxonomy

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class

Troglobiont

Realm

Terrestrial

Troglomorphy

Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Manitou Cave, DeKalb Co. AL

Range

Known from four counties in Alabama in the Interior Low Plateau karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama

Counties

Alabama

De Kalb, DeKalb, Madison, Marshall

Karst regions

Interior Low Plateau

Specimens

Type material

Holotype

National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Collections holding material

8 cataloged lots in 4 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 8 specimen records (CSV) Institution, catalog number, type status and preparation. No coordinates.

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G2 Imperiled

Global rank last reviewed 27 May 2009.

Subnational ranks

Alabama

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

Catalogue of Life

78CJQ

GBIF

1035107

ITIS

110144

iNaturalist

228926

NCBI Taxonomy

2992952

References

• Barr, T.C., Jr. 1965. The Pseudanophthalmus of the Appalachian Valley (Coleoptera: Carabidae). The American Midland Naturalist 73: 41–72. doi:10.2307/2423320
• Barr, T.C., Jr. 1966. Some comments on "troglobites of Alabama - the beetles". Huntsville Grotto Newsletter 7: 33–34.
• Barr, T.C., Jr. 1981. Pseudanophthalmus from Appalachian caves (Coleoptera: Carabidae): the engelhardti complex. Brimleyana 5: 37–94.
• Barr, T.C., Jr. 2004. A classification and checklist of the genus Pseudanophthalmus Jeannel (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechinae). Special Publication 11. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, Virginia, USA. 52 pp.
• Benito, J.B., Ober, K.A., Philips, T.K., Orndorff, W. & Niemiller, M.L. 2025. Phylogenomics and biogeography of North American trechine cave beetles (Coleoptera:Carabidae) inferred from ultraconserved elements. Evolution 79: 1622–1642. doi:10.1093/evolut/qpaf103
• Bousquet, Y. 2012. Catalogue of Geadephaga (Coleoptera: Adephaga) of America, north of Mexico. ZooKeys 245: 1–1. doi:10.3897/zookeys.245.3416
• Erwin, T.L. & House, G.N. 1978. A catalogue of the primary types of Carabidae (incl. Cicindelinae) in the collections of the United States National Museum of Natural History (USNM) (Coleoptera). The Coleopterists Bulletin 32: 231–256. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3999875. details
• Nicholas, G. 1960. Checklist of macroscopic troglobitic organisms of the United States. The American Midland Naturalist 64: 123–160. doi:10.2307/2422897
• Nicholas, G. 1966. Troglobites of Alabama - the beetles. Huntsville Grotto Newsletter 7: 29–32.
• Niemiller, M.L. 2022. Diversity in the darkness. Alabama's hidden but remarkable life in caves. Alabama Wildlife 86: 19–22.
• Peck, S.B. 1973a. A systematic revision and the evolutionary biology of the Ptomaphagus (Adelops) beetles of North America (Coleoptera; Leiodidae; Catopinae), with emphasis on cave-inhabiting species. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 145: 29–162. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4336298. details
• Peck, S.B. 1995. The cave fauna of Alabama. Part II: The insects. National Speleological Society Bulletin 57: 1–19.
• Valentine, J.M. 1932b. A classification of the genus Pseudanophthalmus Jeannel (Fam. Carabidae) with descriptions of new species and notes on distribution. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 47: 261–280. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24332003. details

How to cite this account

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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