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

Delicate Cave Beetle
Pseudanophthalmus delicatus Valentine, 1932

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Hexapoda
Class Insecta
Order Coleoptera
Family Carabidae
Genus Pseudanophthalmus
Species Pseudanophthalmus delicatus Valentine, 1932

Synonyms

  • Pseudanophthalmus hirsutus delicatus (subjective synonym, CoL)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Troglobiont
Realm
Terrestrial
Troglomorphy
Troglomorphic

Distribution

Type locality

Gilley Cave, Lee Co. VA

Range

Known from two counties across two states in the Appalachians karst region.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Tennessee, Virginia

Counties

Tennessee
Claiborne
Virginia
Lee

Karst regions

Appalachians

Conservation and management

NatureServe

G3G4 Vulnerable to Apparently Secure

G1G2G3▲G4▲G5

Global rank last reviewed 21 August 2002.

Subnational ranks

Virginia
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
4NKF9
GBIF
8139146
ITIS
931990
iNaturalist
228949
NCBI Taxonomy
2992975

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. 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
  • 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

This account was last revised 28 August 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 23 August 2026.

How to cite this account

Pseudanophthalmus delicatus Valentine, 1932. Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-0682. https://cavebiology.org/species/pseudanophthalmus-delicatus/ (accessed 18 October 2026).
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Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

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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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