teenoso ( 7 april 1980 – october 4 , 1999 ) was an american-bred british-trained thoroughbred racehorse .

after showing moderate form as a two-year-old he improved in the spring of 1983 to win the group three lingfield derby trial and then won the classic epsom derby , giving lester piggott a record ninth win in the race .

teenoso was beaten in his two remaining races that year but showed his best form as a four-year-old , winning the ormonde stakes , the grand prix de saint-cloud and , on his final appearance , the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes .

he proved to be a disappointment at stud .

teenoso

“the way he continually produced his champions like teenoso , pentire and marling was exemplary .
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teenoso was sent into training with harry wragg at his abington place stables in newmarket , suffolk .
in autumn 1999 , teenoso developed thrombosis and was euthanized on october 4 at pitts farm stud .
wragg saddled jockey lester piggott ' s ninth winner of the epsom classic , teenoso , in 1983 .
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geoff wragg , perhaps best remembered for training teenoso to win the derby , passed away at the age of 87 on friday , in newmarket .
“teenoso might not have been my classiest derby winner , but he was certainly my easiest , ” wrote piggott in his beautifully published book lester’s derbys .
wragg trained almost 700 winners before his retirement in 2008 . he landed the king george vi & queen elizabeth stakes with teenoso in 1984 and pentire in 1996 .
teenoso , the favorite ridden by the british jockey lester piggott , scored an impressive three - length victory on a rain - drenched course in the epsom derby today .
he’s had a fair few go in the derby , lee , since winning it with teenoso ( i remember this one being excoriated by just about every pundit imaginable . i’d just started punting and every word i read was naturally gospel . yet now , i look at teenoso and he wasn’t a bad horse at all ! ) .
lester piggott on teenoso wins the derby in 1983 . the horse was trained by geoff wragg , who has died at the age of 87 . photograph : tony duffy / getty images
teenoso – owned by hong kong - based shipping and insurance broker eric moller – was backed into 9 - 2 favouritism for the 23 - runner race because of piggott’s status as the ‘housewives’ favourite’ .
newmarket - based wragg won the 1983 derby with teenoso in his first season after taking over the licence at abington place from his father harry , whom he had assisted for the previous 28 years .
as a two - year - old , teenoso’s record was modest . unplaced on his debut , and also in doncaster’s ribero stakes , he then finished fourth on his final outing of an unpromising 1982 campaign .
of those to have remained in training high - rise , quest for fame and slip anchor failed to enhance their reputation but 1983 epsom scorer teenoso boosted his record by returning to land the king george the following year .
the victory , aboard the under - rated teenoso in 1983 , came 30 years after the iconic sir gordon richards had finally won his first derby at the 28th attempt on pinza , denying the queen’s aureole in coronation week .
piggott , who won his first derby on never say in 1954 a year after the emotion of the richards victory , quietly ruled out several well - fancied mounts before teenoso impressed him sufficiently during one of those early morning gallops .
“once we straightened up , i knew there was no point in hanging around . teenoso would stay all day and would gallop all the way to the line , so i just let him go and set sail for home . ”
in the official international classification for 1983 , tolomeo was given a rating of 87 , making him the fifth - best three - year - old colt in europe behind shareef dancer , caerleon , l ' emigrant and teenoso . he was rated on 87 again in the following season , making him the fourth best older male behind teenoso , sagace and morcon . the independent timeform organisation gave him a rating of 127 in both years . [ 2 ] [ 4 ]
the 2006 vodafone derby hero , sir percy , is also entered and he could bid to follow in the footsteps of royal palace ( 1968 ) and teenoso ( 1984 ) who both won at ascot the year after their derby success .
teenoso revelled in softer ground and failed to replicate his epsom form again at three , but the following season proved an outstanding colt , winning the grand prix de saint - cloud and a vintage renewal of the king george vi & queen elizabeth diamond stakes .
in between there were several group 1 successes , including in the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes with teenoso and pentire – who both ran in the famous mollers racing colours – as well as big - race victories around the world in a career that spanned 26 years .
sadler ' s wells was given a rating of 90 by the international classification , making him the sixth best horse of the year in europe behind el gran senor ( 98 ) , teenoso ( 95 ) , sagace ( 93 ) , chief singer ( 92 ) and darshaan ( 91 ) .
teenoso property company unlimited company was set up on tuesday the 29th of january 2013 . their current address is co . kildare , and the company status is normal . the company ' s current directors barry comer , luke comer and brian comer have been the director of 108 other irish companies between them .
teenoso ( usa ) dkb / br . h , 1980 { 3 - c } dp = 4 - 5 - 9 - 8 - 0 ( 26 ) di = 1 . 08 cd = 0 . 19 - 13 starts , 6 wins , 1 places , 3 shows career earnings : $ 647 , 148
“at this point , teenoso was going so easily that i was able to take a look over my right shoulder to see if anything was likely to come from off the pace – always a difficult proposition in such heavy going – and was reassured by what i saw . they were pretty well all flat to the boards .
teenoso was a dark - coated bay horse with a small white star and a white sock on his left hind leg , bred in kentucky by ralph
budgie
moller and his brother , eric , who owned the colt during his racing career . he was described as a bay when racing , but when standing at stud he was described as being
dark bay or brown
. teenoso was the best horse sired by youth , the winner of the prix du jockey club washington d . c . international in 1976 . his dam , furioso , who finished second in the 1974 epsom oaks , also produced the racemare topsy , who finished second in the 1000 guineas and won both the sun chariot stakes and the prix d ' astarte in 1979 . furioso and teenoso were two of many successful racehorses descended from the mollers ' broodmare horama . others included lacquer ( irish 1000 guineas , cambridgeshire handicap ) , favoletta ( irish 1000 guineas ) , sovereign ( coronation stakes ) and violetta ( cambridgeshire ) .
wragg enjoyed classic success in his very first season as a trainer when teenoso won the derby under lester piggott in 1983 . however , the closest wragg would come to replicating teenoso ' s win would be some 23 years later when the unconsidered 66 / 1 chance dragon dancer came within a short head of causing one of the biggest upsets in the race ' s history in a four - way go to the line , narrowly losing out to sir percy . rather ironically , wragg had trained the temperamental dam of the winner and both he and his father also trained several of the extended family , the most notable member being teenoso . his 2001 contender , asian heights , well fancied after his last - to - first win in the predominate stakes at goodwood , was cruelly robbed of his chance of running in the classic after splitting a pastern with just over a week to go before the big race . he recovered to win at group 3 / listed level , but injuries continued to blight him and his career somewhat fizzled out .
wragg won britain ' s most important classic with lester piggott - ridden teenoso in 1983 , shortly after taking over in charge of the newmarket stable previously run by his illustrous father harry , who himself had trained derby winner psidium ( 1961 ) as well as riding the winner three times on felstead ( 1928 ) , blenheim ( 1930 ) and watling street ( 1942 ) .
1983 . breakfast television started on bbc1 , margaret thatcher won a second general election and seatbelts for drivers became compulsory . in the smaller world of racing , lester piggott landed his ninth and final derby on teenoso , a two - year - old colt called sadler’s wells made a winning debut at leopardstown , and touching wood stood his first season at dalham hall stud for 7 , 000 guineas .
teenoso began his stud career at the highclere stud but struggled to attract high - quality mares and was not considered a success as a stallion . the best of his progeny was probably young buster , who won seven races including the group three september stakes . other successful flat racers included carlton ( hansa - preis ) and starlet ( team trophy der volksbanken und raiffeisenbanken ) . teenoso was later moved to the shade oak stud in shropshire and then to the pitts farm stud at sherborne in dorset . towards the end of his stud career he was standing at a fee of £1 , 000 and was mainly being used as a national hunt stallion . the best of his steeplechase performers were young spartacus ( mildmay of flete handicap chase , racing post chase ) and horus ( vodafone gold cup ) .
but it was with a colt , in that very first season in the job , that wragg quickly established himself . during as wet a spring as many could remember , he oversaw enormous improvement from the maiden teenoso , who had shown very little as a juvenile , to land first the lingfield derby trial and then the epsom derby , under lester piggott . hot touch was another smart early performer .
during his first season after taking over the licence from his father , harry , wragg provided lester piggott with his ninth derby success when saddling teenoso to win the 1983 renewal of the epsom showpiece . twenty - three years later wragg memorably came close to causing one of the biggest upsets in derby history when his 66 - 1 shot dragon dancer was beaten a short head into second place by sir percy .
red glow was a pig ~ he ended up running ( and getting stuffed in ) selling hurdles in australia of all places . i second all the other stuff especially about teenoso who showed he was a proper derby winner by beating sadler’s wells in the following year’s king george . everyone thought he was a decent plodder who got lucky in a heavy ground derby but he showed them , with a little help from lester .
as for teenoso , the derby form did not look rock solid initially – he was beaten in the irish derby on unsuitably fast ground before finishing third in the great voltigeur stakes at york . as a four - year - old , however , he won the valuable grand prix de saint - cloud in france before beating champions of all ages in an epic running of the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes . it was his last race .
teenoso , who went off at odds of 9 - 2 in a field of 21 3 - year - olds , finished in 2 : 49 7 / 10 . the time was the slowest for the derby since 1891 , reflecting the soggy conditions . carlingford castle , a 14 - 1 shot , was second , and shearwalk and salmon leap , both owned by the breeder robert sangster , finished third and fourth , respectively , in a close finish .
piggott was unperturbed when he heard afterwards that carlingford castle and shearwalk , back in third under walter swinburn , had both encountered difficulty negotiating tattenham corner – he pointed to the emphatic nature of the three - length winning margin . of his nine derby victories , only st paddy ( 1960 ) , empery ( 1976 ) and teenoso had won with so much in hand . not even icons like nijinsky , sir ivor and the minstrel had prevailed with such ease .
wragg ' s father , harry , was an extremely successful jockey and trainer , and the pair would be renowned for being the first to trial electronic timing equipment on the gallops as well as weighing their horses . his riding career was littered with success , winning all five domestic classics - almost repeating the feat as a trainer with only the oaks eluding him ( trained the runner - up in 1974 , ironically with the future dam of teenoso , furioso ) . harry retired in 1982 , leaving geoff to train teenoso to classic glory at epsom the following june . harry ' s brothers were jockeys arthur jr and sam . geoff had two siblings : brother peter was a successful bloodstock until his death in february 2004 , and sister susan was married to top jockey manny mercer until his untimely and tragic death in september 1959 . geoff ' s retirement in 2008 brought to an end a long and hugely successful association with the wragg name in horse racing .
geoff wragg ( 9 january 1930 – 15 september 2017 ) was a thoroughbred horse trainer who trained champion horses such as teenoso and pentire . he was the son of former jockey and trainer harry wragg , from whom he took over the licence at abington place , newmarket in 1983 upon his father ' s retirement . wragg retired in 2008 after 25 years of training and sold abington place to sheikh mohammed bin khalifa al maktoum the following spring . he relocated to yorkshire , the birthplace of his late father , harry wragg . he died in 2017 .
was not , of course , trained in ballydoyle , nor was he owned by the coolmore team . initially under the care of guy harwood , he was one of england’s best three - year - old colts of 1983 , when he finished among the also - rans in teenoso’s derby after having taken the feilden stakes at newmarket . he did even better from john gosden’s barn in california , landing several graded stakes including three grade ones . arguably his best win came when he set a new track record ( of 2 : 24 . 8 ) in the hollywood turf cup , but his defeat of the previous year’s kentucky derby winner ferdinand in the 1987 san luis rey stakes was equally good . he then proved a success at stud , coming up with several good horses at segenhoe stud in new south wales including the frank cleary - trained clan o’sullivan , who was only caught by burst in the shadows of the post in the golden slipper in 1992 .
as a four - year - old , tolomeo continued to produce good performances but was less consistent and timeform commented that he appeared to have become
something of a character
. on his first appearance of the year he finished fourth when carrying top weight in the prince of wales ' s stakes ( then a group two race ) and then finished seventh behind sadler ' s wells in the eclipse stakes . in july he was moved up in distance to one and a half miles for the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes at ascot . ridden by his regular work - rider rae guest , tolomeo produced one of his best efforts as he finished third behind teenoso and sadler ' s wells . in august he finished second in the benson and hedges gold cup at york , beaten two and a half lengths by cormorant wood . his form declined in the autumn and he finished unplaced in the phoenix champion stakes and the champion stakes . [ 4 ]
after finishing fourth in the craven stakes on his debut as a three - year - old , tolomeo contested the classic 2000 guineas over newmarket ' s rowley mile course on 30 april . ridden by the italian jockey gianfranco dettori he started at odds of 18 / 1 against fifteen opponents . he was restrained in last place for most of the way before making rapid progress in the last quarter mile to finish second to the irish - trained lomond . dettori was criticised for giving the colt too much ground to make up , but cumani defended his jockey , insisting that he was riding according to instructions . tolomeo next ran in the derby over one and a half miles on soft ground , finishing ninth of the twenty - one runners , more than twenty lengths behind the winner teenoso . following the derby , tolomeo returned to shorter distances and produced three good performances without winning . he finished second by a head to horage in the st james ' s palace stakes , third in a blanket finish for the eclipse stakes and second to the five - year - old noalcoholic in the sussex stakes . [ 2 ]
the one mile st . james ' s palace stakes at royal ascot was named as the colt ' s next target , but instead he was moved up in distance for the prix du jockey club , a race which o ' brien had won the previous year with caerleon . sadler ' s wells took the lead in the straight but was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten one and a half lengths by darshaan , with rainbow quest in third . in july , sadler ' s wells was the only three - year - old in a field of nine runners for the eclipse stakes at sandown park . the irish colt took the lead in the straight and held off the challenge of the mare time charter to win by a neck . the race was a rough and unsatisfactory one , but the winner was praised for his
battling
and
determined
performance against more experienced rivals . later that month , sadler ' s wells ran second to teenoso in a strong field for the king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes at ascot , finishing ahead of tolomeo , time charter , sun princess and darshaan .
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there were at least two familiar elements in the result of the mile - and - a - half event , one of europe ' s most important thoroughbred races .
piggott added to his derby record by winning for the ninth time , and this was the 17th time in the last 21 years that the favorite or the second choice had triumphed .
slewpy , the american colt flown here especially for the derby , began well but soon tired and finished 18th . the veteran american jockey bill shoemaker finished 16th aboard lomond , the winner of the two thousand guineas .
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the mtdna haplotype reported by bower et al . 2012 in samples from family 3c was not the haplotype expected for family 3 .
and he nearly caused a derby shock 23 years later when his 66 - 1 shot dragon dancer was second to winner sir percy .
wragg , who also trained the 1996 king george vi and queen elizabeth stakes winner pentire , was described as
the father figure of newmarket trainers
by the town ' s former mayor john berry .
berry , himself a trainer , told at the races :
geoff dying really is the end of an era .
former jockey michael hills , who partnered pentire to all but one of his eight career victories , said :
he was a fantastic trainer and a great man who was always an absolute pleasure to ride for .
wragg also enjoyed classic success in ireland , with marling landing the 1992 irish 1 , 000 guineas at the curragh under walter swinburn .
how to get into horse racing , whether you want to work with horses at the stables or become a fully fledged jockey .
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winx ' s staying power as one of the world ' s top rac . . .
t . j . comerford , assistant trainer for aidan o ' brie . . .
1st derby s . gr . 1 ( gb ) , grand prix de saint - cloud gr . 1 ( fr ) , king george vi & queen elizabeth diamond s . gr . 1 ( gb ) , ormonde s . gr . 3 ( gb ) , lingfield derby trial gr . 3 ( gb ) ,
3rd irish derby gr . 1 ( ire ) , great voltigeur s . gr . 2 ( gb ) , john porter s . gr . 3 ( gb ) .
euthanized oct 4 , 1999 at pitts farm stud in dorset , england . rip . ( close )
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this photograph is emblematic of epsom on derby day – crowds cascading down from tattenham corner as the incomparable lester piggott passes the winning post to win racing’s blue riband race for a record ninth time .
the geoff wragg - trained horse only came to wider prominence when winning the april maiden stakes at newmarket under steve cauthen , the top american jockey who had made such a successful transition to british racing . the same partnership then franked the form in the lingfield derby trial on a course comparable to the undulations of epsom downs .
with piggott’s then trainer sir henry cecil having no derby runner in 1983 , the build - up to the race was dominated by the annual speculation over the identity of the legendary jockey’s epsom mount – and whether the race would go ahead after an unseasonably wet may prompted fears about the track being unraceable because of waterlogging .
he would use these gallops , always shrouded in secrecy to the chagrin of the racing press , to test the stamina of his possible derby contenders to the limit ahead of the mile - and - a - half epsom race , and often to the annoyance of trainers like vincent o’brien , who wanted their thoroughbreds ridden with restraint .
with the 1983 general election days away , comedian eric morecambe captured the country’s mood when proclaiming : “in a recent opinion poll , lester piggott came out top as the person most people would like to see at no 10 . it’s what is known as a gallop poll . ”
the jockey takes up the story . “knowing that stamina was his forte , i had him out of the starting stalls quickly , and got him to settle in about third place , ” he said . “going down to tattenham corner , we were still travelling easily in third , one horse off the rails , behind the outsiders .
the winning time – two minutes , 49 . 07 seconds – was testament to the heavy going and the slowest since common prevailed in 1891 . back in second was carlingford castle . he had been a first derby ride for a young mick kinane , who would go on to win the race on three occasions , most famously with sea the stars in 2009 .
the maestro’s 36th and final derby ride came in 1994 when khamaseen was fifth behind erhaab . however , piggott’s record of nine wins and four seconds will never be equalled .
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he won the 1994 ascot gold cup with arcadian heights and guided the brilliant filly marling to successe in the 1991 cheveley park stakes before landing the irish 1 , 000 guineas , coronation and sussex stakes the following year .
newmarket trainer and former mayor of the town , john berry , hailed wragg as the ' father figure of newmarket trainers ' .
' geoff dying really is the end of an era , ' berry told at the races .
' harry trained two derby winners and was at the top of the training tree . geoff took over from him in 1983 and it was a seamless transition .
' for the next 30 years , virtually , he was as successful as his father had been . he always had a top horse and you could pretty much set your clock by him having something for royal ascot every year .
' he ' s been in very poor health and it was going to happen at some point , but it ' s a very sad day and it leaves a big hole in the community . '
michael hills , who partnered pentire to all but one of his eight career victories , said : ' i worked for geoff for six years and we had the most amazing time .
' there was pentire winning all those races , arcadian heights winning the gold cup , nicolotte winning the queen anne , first island winning the prince of wales ' s and rebecca sharp in the coronation stakes . i must have ridden about 10 group one winners during that time .
' he was a fantastic trainer and a great man who was always an absolute pleasure to ride for . '
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climbed in much better style by emma than me ! great climb . worth visiting the buttress for just this and bewsey crack .
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horses and chalk have geographical and nutritional connections . chalk is a soft , white , porous sedimentary carbonate rock , a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite which is calcium carbonate . a downland is an area of open chalk hills . this term is especially used to describe the chalk countryside in southern england . areas of downland are often referred to as downs , deriving from a celtic word for “hills” .
the downs close to epsom have always been one of the green lungs of the greater london area . 1618 , there even became something of a spa with the discovery of epsom salts . the popularity of epsom spring water lasted for a couple of decades . but even with a regular stream of weekend ramblers from the city , the downs basically remained a quiet place out in the middle of nowhere . then , the sole reason to became an attraction there was horse racing .
organised racing was held on a regular basis and was so popular that it found its way into documentations . 1648 - 05 - 18 , a meeting of the royalists was held on banstead downs under the pretence of a horse race , and six hundred horse s were collected and marched to reigate . 1663 - 05 - 27 , “this day there was great thronging to banstead downs , upon a great horse - race and foot - race . i am sorry i could not go thither . ” was written on samuel pepys’ diary . 1663 - 07 - 25 , “having intended this day to go to banstead downs to see a famous race , i sent will to get himself ready to go with me ( … ) and so by boat to white hall , where i hear that the race is put off , because the lords do sit in parliament to - day . ” was also written on samuel pepys’ diary . within the proximity of 5 miles , those were the most classical venues of thoroughbred horse racing up to the modern time .
derby ( uk / ˈdɑːbɪ / dah - bee or us / ˈdɜːrbɪ / dur - bee ) 1779 - 05 - 14 friday , the derby originated at a celebration following the first running of the oaks stakes for three - year - old fillies . the oak , named after lord derby ’s country house in woodmansterne , was run over a mile and a half ( 8st 4lb ) , at 50 guineas each . there were 12 runners and appropriately , it was won by lord derby ’s bridget , the 5 - 2 favourite . a new race for the three - year - old was planned , and it was decided that it should be named after either the host of the party , the 12th earl of derby , or one of his guests , sir charles bunbury . according to legend the decision was made by the toss of a coin , but it is probable that bunbury , the steward of the jockey club , deferred to his host . 1780 - 05 - 04 thursday , the inaugural running of the derby was won by diomed , a colt owned by sir charles bunbury , who collected prize money of £1 , 065 15s . traditionally , the term “derby” is used strictly to refer to races restricted to three - year - olds . the most notable exceptions to this rule are the hong kong derby and singapore derby , restricted to four - year - old thoroughbred s .
right after the legendary events – the first few “ epsom derby ” though only on a distance of a mile – met with instant success . 1784 , the course was extended to its current distance of a mile and a half , and tattenham corner was introduced . 1820s , crowds of up to 80 , 000 were reported by the newspapers . 1850s , attendance at the derby was around 500 , 000 , including the royal family and members of parliament . it is therefore hardly surprising that right from the beginning , derby races have been seen as an important historical record . epsom derby has been named as the blue riband and regarded as one of the british classics . they are the five long - standing group 1 horse races , st . leger ( 1776 ) , oaks ( 1779 ) , derby ( 1780 ) , 2 , 000 guineas ( 1809 ) , and 1 , 000 guineas ( 1814 ) .
the charisma of british epsom derby was quickly spread all over the world . macao , peking , shanghai , tientsin , hankow , amoy racecourses held their derby sooner or later with characteristics of china races . 1873 - 02 - 21 _ 3 , hong kong inaugurated a derby . for all china ponies , bond fide griffins at date of entry . 10st . 7lbs . 1 - 1 / 2 miles . nothing specially or properly mentioned but just as running one of the very ordinary races . then , the runnings of hong kong derby remained a routine until the wwii . until the end of the 20th century , hk derby varied upon the date , distance , entry , gender and weight . finally it settled down to be a race for 4 year olds only .
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thoroughbred s are noted for their tremendous speed and athleticism while racing long distance s . the word “ thoroughbred ” is often used to refer to any selectively bred horse , but the term actually refers to the english breed developed in the 18th and 19 centuries .
all modern thoroughbred s can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported from the middle east into england in the 17th century and 18th century . three foundation sires were byerley turk ( 1680 ) , darley arabian ( 1700 ) , and godolphin arabian ( 1729 ) . darley arabian 11 % and godolphin arabian 24 % were once being estimated in pedigree analysis for all thoroughbred s . besides those three of that period , there were other stallions imported from the east , traceable in the dame line . in terms of appearance , the thoroughbred resembles its arabian ancestors . their distinguishing traits are refined head ; long neck ; sloping shoulders ; deep body ; fine long legs ; strong muscular hindquarters .
the quadrupeds at the beginning of hong kong ’s racing formed a mixed mob , ranging from big english thoroughbred s down to australian waler s , arabs and small ponies from several sources . except for an occasional unpremeditated contribution , when a mare has arrived here in foal , hong kong has never bred its own horse s . it has bought where it could ; and over many years the local patron of the turf has backed his fancy among blue - blooded english thoroughbred s , horse s from overseas . in the past , their dominance was not so prominent as peking writer , mr collins , devoted a chapter to the china pony . to quote : “if the mongol pony is a midget he is an amazingly sturdy midget . he runs distance s on the flat which average out to about the same as the english classics . . . but has to carry gentleman - jockey weights ranging from 145 lbs , to 160 lbs . , as against the 126 lbs . carried by full - sized english thoroughbred s in the derby . ”
thoroughbred s from england and south africa were categorized in entries of races , though described as ‘ horse s’ differentiating with ‘ ponies ‘ , from the eras of racing marked by the army and civil officers , the dent s and jardines and later by the local and expatriate wealthy businessmen , thoroughbred s played a more and more important roles in china and not just in hong kong . books and notes by writer henry ching , austin coates , governor henry may and even overseas newspapers in singapore and australia reported as such . several famous thoroughbred s being raced in happy valley were tartar , goldfinder , kathleen , sir williams , etc .
australian thoroughbred dominated the early races in hong kong . 1788 , the first horse s , of mainly spanish blood , reached australia with the first fleet . 1799 , rockingham , the first english thoroughbred stallion , was shipped from south africa by a young naval officer named henry waterhouse . 1820 , the influence was mainly from england , and each fresh arrival played his or her part in the steady improvement of the australian stock . 1840s the australian horse had made its mark at the races as far afield as calcutta , madras , colombo , singapore and batavia . for nearly a hundred years in happy valley racecourse , australian waler s , was gradually and eventually superseded by australian thoroughbred s . australian thoroughbred s dominated the hongkong races after wwii , was little short of phenomenal .
japanese thoroughbred , as steward and official col . dowbiggin added : “ thoroughbred ponies had been bred in japan for some years for racing there . the japanese brought in a rule that no pony could race there after winning ten races . it was discovered that some of these ponies were being shipped across to manchuria and after a short time there sold at ridiculously high prices to owner s in hong kong as ‘griffins’ . it was proved to the stewards that in one year over $ 300 , 000 had been paid out by hong kong for such animals , which in many cases broke down very soon here . ”
since 1971 - 1972 , only thoroughbred s have been allowed to race , and these are of a high standard . youngsters imported have included the progeny of such internationally renowned sires . no matter a horse ’s potential on breeding , however , nor what it may have achieved on other racecourses in the past , what counts in hongkong is its performance in hongkong . on that score two horse s have stood out since professional racing started . piccadilly lane ( irish ) gelding super win , which won 18 races between 1974 - 1977 . town crier ( english ) grey gelding silver lining ( raced in australia as vintage moon ) which , racing between 1978 - 1982 , became the first horse to win over a million hongkong dollars .
according to mr greenstreet kan《records after racing professionalization 1971 - 1997》 : 1970s , many trophy winners were horse s imported before “ thoroughbred era” .
most horse breeds tend to live between 25 and 30 years . not surprisingly , the thoroughbred has a life expectancy in line with other horse s .
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this article is about the racehorse . for the shipping term , see chartering ( shipping ) .
who won several major middle - distance races between 1982 and 1984 . after winning twice as a two - year - old in 1981 , she developed into a top - class racemare in the following year , finishing second in the
and was retired from racing at the end of the year having won nine of her twenty races . she later became a very successful broodmare .
bred in ireland and owned throughout her career by the barnett family . her sire saritamer was an american - bred , irish - trained sprinter who won the
) , centroline ( jockey club cup ) and tale quale ( jockey club cup ) .
she was ridden in most of her races by william
billy
newnes .
two furlongs from the finish . she stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish second , two and a half lengths behind on the house and three lengths clear of dione in third .
on 5 june time charter was one of thirteen fillies to contest the 204th running of the oaks stakes ( known for sponsorship reasons as the gold seal oaks ) . despite her performance in the 1000 guineas , she was not among the favourites and started at odds of 12 / 1 , probably because , as the daughter of a sprinter , she was thought unlikely to be effective over one and a half miles . billy newnes ( who was still an apprentice jockey at the time ) restrained time charter at the back of the field before moving up on the outside in the straight . she took the lead inside the final furlong and won by a length from slightly dangerous , with last feather third ,
fifth . her winning time of 2 : 34 . 21 was a record for the race and was faster than that recorded by
in late july . as a group one winner she carried a seven pound weight penalty and finished second , beaten two lengths by dancing rocks .
but was sidelined by a respiratory infection , described as
a dirty nose
. she eventually returned for the sun chariot stakes , a group two race over ten furlongs at newmarket in october , in which she was again asked to concede weight to her rivals .
winner buzzard ' s bay . newnes settled time charter towards the rear of the field before moving forward along the rails three and a half furlongs from the finish . the filly was initially unable to obtain a clear run and newnes had to force her through a gap between montekin and the tiring kalaglow , appearing to bump the latter . once in the clear , time charter quickly took the lead and accelerated away from the field to win impressively by seven lengths , the biggest margin in the history of the race . it had been intended to retire the filly at the end of the season and have her covered by


cicurina baronia is a rare species of spider in the family dictynidae known by the common name robber baron cave meshweaver .

it is endemic to texas in the united states , where it is known from only one cave in bexar county .

this is one of nine invertebrates endemic to the karst caves of bexar county that were federally listed as endangered species in the year 2000 .

this spider is known from robber baron cave .

the entrance to the cave is a protected area , but the land above the cave is urbanized .

this cave is also the only home for the cokendolpher cave harvestman ( texella cokendolpheri ) , another rare arachnid .

the bexar county karst cave invertebrates are troglobites , species that spend their entire lives in subterranean environments .

the current status of the invertebrates is difficult to assess because their habitats are largely inaccessible and the animals themselves are small and cryptic .

the threats to all nine species are the same : habitat loss when the caves are filled in or quarried , and habitat degradation via pollution , alterations in water flow , and direct human interference .

cicurina baronia

robber baron cave spider ( cicurina baronia ) on wood . photo by dr . jean krejca .
cokendolpher , j . c . 2004 . cicurina spiders from caves in bexar county , texas ( araneae : dictynidae ) . texas memorial museum , speleological monographs 6 : 13 - 58 .
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gertsch , w . j . 1992 . distribution patterns and speciation in north american cave spiders with a list of the troglobites and revision of the cicurinas of the subgenus cicurella . texas mem . mus . , speleol . monogr . 3 : 75 - 122 .
subgenus cicurella . previously placed in the family agelenidae . this species has been referred to by two common names , the robber baron cave spider ( usfws , 2000 ) and the robber baron cave meshweaver ( breene et al . 2003 ) . the latter name has been accepted as the official common name ( breene et al . 2003 , usfws 2003 ) .
known from a single locality , robber baron cave in bexar county , texas . although the cave entrance is protected as a preserve by the texas cave management association ( tcma ) , this cave is relatively large , and the land that overlies the cave is heavily urbanized . the cave has also been historically subject to extensive commercial and recreational use ( veni 1988 ) . in addition , the current gate on the cave is blocking organic material from entering and may be severely limiting food input and impacting the cave fauna ( veni and reddell , pers . comm . 2001 in cockendolpher and reddell , 2004 ) . the last collection of this species was made in 1983 , although one was seen in 2001 ( usfws , 2006 ) .
due to latency between updates made in state , provincial or other natureserve network databases and when they appear on natureserve explorer , for state or provincial information you may wish to contact the data steward in your jurisdiction to obtain the most current data . please refer to
there are nine bexar county , texas invertebrates that were listed as endangered on december 26 , 2000 . the recovery priority number for all bexar county karst invertebrates is 2c , which means that these species face a high degree of threat with a high potential for recovery and there may be conflict between species recovery and economic development .
known only from robber baron cave in the alamo heights karst region , bexar county , texas .
population estimates are unavailable for any of the nine troglobites listed as endangered in bexar county ( usfws , 2000 ) due to lack of adequate techniques , their cryptic behavior , and inaccessibility of habitat ( usfws , 2008 ) . culver et al . ( 2000 ) states that while some troglobites are known from a few specimens , detailed studies suggest that
as a rule
most troglobites
are not numerically rare and thus are not susceptible to the problems of small populations .
however , considering the lack of population estimates and limited study of these species , data are insufficient to indicate whether bexar county karst invertebrates are numerous enough to rule out small population concerns ( usfws , 2008 ) .
based on usfws ( 2008 ) , reduce threats to the species by securing an adequate quantity and quality of caves , including selecting caves or cave clusters that represent the range of the species and potential genetic diversity , then preserving these caves , including their drainage basins and surface communities upon which they rely . maintenance of these cave preserves involves keeping them free from contamination , excessive human visitation , and non - native fire ants by regularly tracking progress and implementing adaptive management to control these and any new threats when necessary . monitoring the population status and threats are also components of recovery . because many aspects of the population dynamics and habitat requirements of the species are poorly understood , recovery is also dependant on incorporating research findings into adaptive management actions .
( < 100 square km ( less than about 40 square miles ) ) known only from robber baron cave in the alamo heights karst region , bexar county , texas .
use the generic guidelines for the application of occurrence ranks ( 2008 ) . the key for ranking species occurrences using the generic approach provides a step - wise process for implementing this method .
zoological data developed by natureserve and its network of natural heritage programs ( see local programs ) and other contributors and cooperators ( see sources ) .
breene , r . g . , d . a . dean , g . b . edwards , b . hebert , h . w . levi , g . manning , k . mcwest , and l . sorkin . 2003 . common names of arachnids 2003 . 5th edition . the american arachnological society committee on common names of arachnids . american tarantula society .
culver , d . c . , l . l . master , m . c . christman , and h . h . hobbs iii . 2000 . obligate cave fauna of the 48 contiguous united states . conservation biology 14 ( 2 ) : 386 - 401 .
elliott , w . r . 2000 . conservation of the north american cave and karst biota . pages 665 - 689 in wilkens , h . , d . c . culver , and w . f . humphreys ( editors ) . subterranean ecosystems . ecosystems of the world , 30 . elsevier , amsterdam . xiv + 791 pp . corrected version online . available : urltoken
longacre , c . 2000 . endangered and threatened wildlife and plants ; final rule to list nine bexar county , texas invertebrate species as endangered . u . s . fish and wildlife service ( usfws ) . federal register 65 ( 248 ) .
rappaport , c . j . 1998 . department of interior fish and wildlife service 50 cfr part 17 , rin 1018 - af33 , endangered and threatened wildlife and plants ; proposal to list nine bexar county , texas invertebrate species as endangered . federal register , 63 ( 250 ) : 71855 - 71867 .
reddell , j . r . and j . c . cokendolpher . 2004 . the cave spiders of bexar and comal counties , texas . texas memorial museum , speleological monographs 6 : 75 - 94 .
shorthouse , d . p . , editor . 2007 . the nearctic spider database . world wide web electronic publication . http : / / canadianarachnology . webhop . net .
stanford , r . , and a . shull . 1993 . department of interior fish and wildlife service 50 cfr part 17 ; 90 - day finding on a petition to list nine bexar county , tx , invertebrates . federal register , 58 ( 229 ) : 63328 - 63329 .
u . s . fish and wildlife service ( usfws ) . 1994 . endangered and threatened wildlife and plants ; animal candidate review for listing as endangered or threatened species . federal register 59 ( 219 ) : 58982 - 59028 .
u . s . fish and wildlife service ( usfws ) . 2003 . endangered and threatened wildlife and plants ; designation of critical habitat for seven bexar county , texas , invertebrate species ; final rule . federal register 68 ( 67 ) : 17156 - 17231 .
u . s . fish and wildlife service ( usfws ) . 2008 . draft bexar county karst invertebrate recovery plan . 125 pp .
veni , g . 1988 . the caves of bexar county , second edition . texas memorial museum speleological monographs , 2 , studies on the cave and endogean fauna of north america iv . texas memorial museum , austin , texas . 300 pp .
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ridgely , r . s . , t . f . allnutt , t . brooks , d . k . mcnicol , d . w . mehlman , b . e . young , and j . r . zook . 2003 . digital distribution maps of the birds of the western hemisphere , version 1 . 0 . natureserve , arlington , virginia , usa .
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designation of critical habitat for nine bexar county invertebrates : proposed rule ; reopening of comment period .
designation of critical habitat for nine bexar county , tx , invertebrates final rule . and a 12 - month finding on a petition to revise critical habitat designation by removing unit 13 from designation under the act - not warranted .
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world spider catalog , version 11 . 0 , website ( version 11 . 0 )
platnick , norman i . 2011 . the world spider catalog , v . 11 . 0 . american museum of natural history . database built by robert j . raven from the files underlying the website at urltoken doi : 10 . 5531 / db . iz . 0001
breene , r . g . , d . allen dean , g . b . edwards , blain hebert , herbert w . levi , gail manning , et al .
the american arachnological society committee on common names of arachnids . available online at urltoken
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over 40 species of highly adapted , aquatic , subterranean species are known to live in the edwards aquifer . these include amphipod crustaceans , gastropod snails , and interesting vertebrates like blind catfish ( longley , 1986 ) . seven aquatic species are listed as endangered in the edwards aquifer system , and one is listed as threatened . the main problems for all the species are reduced springflows caused by increased pumping , elimination of habitat , and degradation of water quality caused by urban expansion .
the world wildlife fund has produced a must - have , authoritative reference work for anyone interested in endangered species . it describes 540 endangered or threatened species , including their habitat , behavior , and recovery . excerpts from their guide to endangered species and other sources were used to prepare this section . information on the aquatic invertebrates was prepared using the us fish and wildlife ' s published final rule on listing the species .
in addition to the aquatic species that depend on aquifer water itself , nine cave - dwelling invertebrates that live in the aquifer ' s karst formations were listed by the us fish & wildlife service as endangered in december 2000 . there are three beetles , one daddy long - legs , and five spiders . in may of 2008 the service released a draft recovery plan ( download it ) . for a general discussion on all these creatures see the section below on the cave - dwelling invertebrates .
a blind salamander stopping for a moment on a rock underwater . these are very difficult to photograph !
the texas blind salamander is a sightless , cave - dwelling salamander that reaches a mature length of about 13 centimeters ( 5 inches ) . it is a slender , frail - legged amphibian , white or pinkish in color with a fringe of blood - red , external gills . the head and snout are flattened . two small black eyespots mark the location of vestigial eyes .
this totally aquatic species feeds on insects and other small invertebrates that live in subterranean waters and are nourished by the droppings of bats in caves . little else of its natural history is known .
little is known , but gravid females have been observed throughout the year . the larvae do not transform .
the texas blind salamander is endemic to the underground water system of the limestone caverns of the edwards plateau . it spends its life in complete darkness . it is sensitive to changes of water quality and thus susceptible to groundwater pollutants .
biologists know of only one population of the texas blind salamander , which occurs in the edwards aquifer around san marcos . the current population is apparently stable , although of limited numbers . it is possible that other populations may exist in unexplored underground caverns .
survival of this salamander depends upon the stability and continued purity of the edwards aquifer springflows . as with the other endangered species in the edwards region , threats are from diminished springflows and pollution of groundwater and runoff caused by increasing demand for water and burgeoning development over recharge areas .
the fountain darter is a reddish brown darter with an average length of 2 . 5 centimeters ( 1 inch ) . it displays a series of dark , horizontal , stitch - like lines along its sides and three dark spots at the base of the tail . dark bars appear below , behind , and in front of the eyes . breeding males develop black , red , and clear stripes along the dorsal fin .
the fountain darter feeds primarily in daylight on aquatic insect larvae and small crustaceans . it is a selective feeder and prefers moving prey , remaining stationary until prey passes within striking distance . the fountain darter spawns year round , with peaks in early spring and august . after attaching eggs to mosses and algae , the female abandons the site , providing no care to eggs or fry .
the fountain darter prefers clear , quiet backwaters with a profuse bottom growth of aquatic plants and matted algae . it is found in the san marcos and comal rivers .
the historic range of the fountain darter included the sources , headwaters , and sections of the san marcos and comal rivers .
the fountain darter is found in spring lake at the headwaters of the san marcos river , in the main channel of the river to the confluence of the blanco river , and in the comal river . the comal river population of fountain darters was completely eliminated when its habitat was reduced to isolated pools by a major drought in the 1950 ' s , but the river was restocked with 457 darters taken from the san marcos river ( usfws , 1984 ) .
schenck and whiteside ( 1976 ) estimated the population in the san marcos river between spring lake dam and the san marcos wastewater treatment plant outfall to be 102 , 966 individuals . until recently , no population estimates had been made for the comal river . linam , mayes , and saunders ( 1993 ) conducted a study to determine habitat utilization , the amount of habitat available , and an estimate of population size . fountain darters were found in greatest densities in filamentous algae , and the mean population estimate for the comal river upstream of torrey mill dam was 168 , 078 with 95 % confidence limits of 114 , 178 and 254 , 110 .
actions that threaten the fountain darter include the destruction of aquatic vegetation in spring lake and the san marcos river , recreational use of the san marcos river , and long - term water depletion from the edwards aquifer . swimmers and divers disturb the algae mats used by the darter for spawning . as with the san marcos gambusia , recovery is considered a remote possibility without the cooperation of all state and local agencies that manage use of the aquifer . linam , mayes , and saunders ( 1993 ) concluded that despite the successful reintroduction effort after the 1950 ' s drought , other factors might preclude it being replicated if the springs should cease to flow again . back then , enduring pools of water sustained some segments of the aquatic community , providing a base for reestablishment . however , the assumption that enduring pools will once again provide a remnant habitat for aquatic plants may no longer be valid . since the introduction of giant rams - horn snails ( marisa cornuarietis ) around 1983 , plants in many areas of landa lake have been denuded of leaves or even grazed to the bottom ( horne , et al . , 1992 ) . these snails thrive in low flow conditions , and during a drought grazing could eliminate the fountain darter habitat . in a repeat of the 1950 ' s drought , the springs are also likely to be dry for a much longer period of time , and there may be changes in water quality that could limit another successful reintroduction .
the gambusia has not been seen since 1982 and is believed to be already extinct .
most aquatic biologists feel the san marcos gambusia is very likely already extinct . it ranged in length from 2 . 5 to 4 centimeters ( 1 to 1 . 6 inches ) , had lemon yellow median fins and a diffuse midlateral stripe along the length of its body . the dark body displayed a bluish sheen , and scales tended to be strongly cross - hatched .
this fish was a livebearer - eggs hatched inside the female ' s body and emerge alive . the female was capable of bearing up to 60 young in a single brood . it fed on insect larvae and other invertebrates in slow - moving waters shaded by overhanging trees or bridges .
the san marcos gambusia preferred quiet backwaters , adjacent to the main thrust of the river current . its primary habitat requirements appeared to be clean and clear water of a constant temperature . temperatures in the river vary by only a few degrees throughout the year , averaging about 23 degrees c ( 73 f ) . the bottom is muddy but generally unsilted . this species was restricted to a limited portion of the san marcos river springrun a few kilometers below the headsprings . it was always rare , and its continued existence has not been documented .
the gambusia ' s entire known range was restricted to a 1 - kilometer ( 0 . 6 miles ) section of the san marcos river near the city of san marcos . most specimens were found between the interstate highway 35 crossing and thompson ' s island . this gambusia was always extremely rare as determined by surveys conducted in 1978 and 1979 in the san marcos river . biologists netted more than 20 , 000 gambusia specimens but counted only 18 san marcos gambusia among them . san marcos gambusia were captured alive and an artificial culture established in austin and in dexter , new mexico , in 1979 and 1980 , respectively . both of these cultures were contaminated by gambusia affinis in the early 1980s and the last individual taken from the wild was captured in 1982 . despite considerable efforts to secure this species since then , none have been taken .
the species ' very restricted known distribution in the river and its absence from the headwaters at spring lake indicate very specific habitat requirements . it was apparently extremely sensitive to any alteration of its habitat . changes in water turbidity caused by runoff from land clearing and construction , an increase in water temperatures caused by lowered water flows , and pumping of groundwater from the edwards aquifer could have easily eliminated the species . even if additional specimens are found , recovery of the san marcos gambusia is considered a remote possibility without the cooperation of all state and local agencies that manage use of the aquifer .
the slender - bodied san marcos salamander is about 6 centimeters ( 2 . 4 inches ) long and displays a prominent gill fringe behind the head . it is light brown above with a row of pale flecks on either side of the midline and yellowish white below . the large eyes have a dark ring around the lens . limbs are short and slender with four toes on the forefeet and five on the hind feet . at first glance , it is similar to a lizard but lacks scales and claws . the specific name nana is from the greek nanos , meaning
dwarf .
this voiceless salamander is also earless . it was listed as endangered on july 14 , 1980 .
salamanders lay jelly - covered eggs from which tiny fishlike larvae emerge and develop in the manner of tadpoles . the san marcos salamander breeds and lays eggs in standing pools amid thick mats of aquatic vegetation . eggs hatch in about 24 days . this species is carnivorous and feeds on amphipods , midge fly larvae , and aquatic snails . it remains stationary until prey pass closely and then abruptly snaps its head , taking the prey .
the san marcos salamander is found in shallow alkaline springs carved out of limestone with sand and gravel substrates . pools and streambeds are often punctuated with large limestone boulders . aquatic vegetation is profuse , and the pool surfaces are covered with moss ( amblystegium riparium ) and thick mats of coarse , blue - green algae .
the species appears to be endemic to the sources and upper portions of the san marcos river .
the limited range of the san marcos salamander comprises the san marcos springs , spring lake , and a few hundred feet of the san marcos river . the most recent estimates of population size indicate there are probably around 50 , 000 individuals . tupa and davis ( 1976 ) estimated there about 23 , 000 in algal mats , and nelson ( 1993 ) estimated about 25 , 000 in rocks in spring lake and about 5 , 200 below the lake .
although the population appears relatively stable for the moment , the salamander is threatened by potential degradation or modification of its very limited habitat . increasing residential and agricultural development along with rising demand for water for human and agricultural uses may cause the spring sources become dry intermittently . the key to preserving the san marcos salamander is controlling the amount of water pumped out of the edwards aquifer .
a canoer glides past submerged streamers of texas wild rice in the san marcos river .
at left , tubers co - exist with wild rice in sewell park , just below aquarena springs . at right , drooping stalks above the surface produce grain - like seeds .
texas wildrice is an aquatic grass with thin , flat , elongated leaves that are typically immersed and long - streaming in river currents . leaves often grow as long as 1 . 5 meters ( 57 inches ) . flower stalks , when present , extend above the surface of the water , sometimes to a height of 1 meter ( 40 inches ) , and produce drooping heads of profuse grain - like seeds . the plant flowers and sets seed at irregular intervals from april to november . seeding plants have become increasingly rare in the wild . it was listed as federally endangered on april 26 , 1978 and state endangered on april 29 , 1983 . it was the first texas plant to be placed on the endangered species list . the leaves are linear , elongate , green , to 45 in . long , 1 / 4 to 1 in . wide . flowers are arranged in a narrow panicle , 6 - 13 in . long , 1 / 2 to 4 in . wide , spreading male branches below , tighter female branches above ; pikelet with one flower without glumes ; male spikelets 1 / 4 - 1 / 2 in . long . 1 / 16 - 1 / 8 in . wide ; female spikelets 5 / 16 - 1 / 2 in . long 1 / 16 - 1 / 8 in . wide , tipped by rough bristles 3 / 8 - 1 3 / 8 in . long ; flowering spring and autumn .
texas wildrice forms large clones or masses of clones that firmly root in gravel shallows near the middle of the river . this plant is adapted to fast - flowing water of high quality and constant year - round temperatures as provided by adequate spring flows . silting , disturbance of the bottom , or stagnant water will kill off plants .
this wildrice was once abundant in the san marcos river , in contiguous irrigation ditches with constant flows , and in spring lake at the river ' s headwaters . in the 1930 ' s it was so abundant that a local irrigation company considered it a difficult task to keep plants from clogging its ditches .
texas wildrice is currently distributed along the upper four miles of the river in and near the city of san marcos . in august of 2011 , the texas parks and wildlife department proposed designating this stretch of the river a state scientific area , which is allowable under state law for the purposes of education , research , and preservation of plant and animal life .
the major reason for decline of the san marcos river habitat has been increased pumping and diversion of edwards aquifer groundwater . decreased spring outflow lowers the water level of the river and exposes the shallows where texas wildrice typically would grow . river dredging and damming , riverside construction , and bottomland cultivation have destroyed plants , altered stream flows and temperature , or increased siltation . in the past , intensive harvesting of the seed crop inhibited successful reproduction . because most of the remaining population is in the urban area of san marcos , botanists have suggested that transplanting wildrice to some other location is the species only hope of survival . however , the fish and wildlife service stresses that every effort must be made to preserve the species in its native habitat . efforts to grow texas wildrice in cultivation and to transplant it have met with limited success . in the 1970 ' s , botanists attempted to establish a new population in salado creek with cultivated plants , but recreational activities continually disturbed transplanted clones . from 1976 to 1982 , nursery grown plants were transplanted to various sites in central texas . no new populations resulted . the fish and wildlife service recovery plan recommends that a public education program be established , aimed at minimizing recreational disturbance of wildrice in the san marcos river . ultimately , long term protection will require a management program to balance the water needs of the human population with the requirements of a healthy san marcos river ecosystem .
the comal springs riffle beetle is a small aquatic , surface - dwelling species in the family elmidae . adult comal springs riffle beetles are about 1 / 8 inch long , with females slightly larger than males . the closest relative of h . comalensis appears to be h . glabra , a species that occurs farther to the west in the big bend region ( bosse , et al . , 1988 ) . some riffle beetle species can fly ( brown , 1987 ) , but the hind wings of h . comalensis are short and almost certainly non - functional , making the species incapable of this mode of dispersal ( bosse , et al . , 1988 ) .
unlike the other two aquatic invertebrate organisms listed here , the comal springs riffle beetle is not a subterranean species . it occurs in the gravel substrate and shallow riffles in spring runs . larvae have been collected with adults in the gravel substrate of the spring headwaters and not on submerged wood as is typical of most
. usual water depth in occupied habitat is 2 to 10 centimeters ( 1 to 4 in ) although the beetle may also occur in slightly deeper areas within the spring runs . populations have been reported to reach their greatest densities from february to april
and a single specimen was collected from san marcos springs 32 km ( 20 mi ) to the northeast .
it was first collected by bosse in 1976 and was described by bosse , et al . , in 1988 . nothing is known about whether this species may have historically ranged in other springs that are now dry almost all the time , such as san pedro springs and san antonio springs .
the comal springs riffle beetle is known from comal springs and san marcos springs .
because conservation and recovery of the three listed aquatic invertebrate species are very similar , they are discussed together at the end of this page .
the comal springs dryopid beetle is the only known subterranean member of the beetle family dryopidae . adult comal springs dryopid beetles are about 1 / 8 inch long . they have vestigial ( non - functional ) eyes , are weakly pigmented , translucent , and thin - skinned .
elmid and dryopid beetles live primarily in flowing , uncontaminated waters . collection records for the comal springs dryopid beetle are primarily from spring run 2 at comal springs , but they have also been collected from runs 3 and 4 at comal and from fern bank springs about 20 miles to the northeast in hays county . collections have been from april through august . most of the specimens have been taken from drift nets or from inside the spring orifices . although the larvae of the comal springs dryopid beetle have been collected in drift nets positioned over the spring openings , they are presumed to be associated with air - filled voids inside the spring orifices since all other known dryopid beetle larvae are terrestrial . unlike peck ' s cave amphipod , the comal springs dryopid beetle does not swim , and it may have a smaller range within the aquifer .
the comal springs dryopid beetle is a recently discovered species . it was first collected in 1987 and described as a new genus and species by barr & spangler , 1992 . nothing is known about whether this species may have historically ranged in other springs that are now dry almost all the time , such as san pedro springs and san antonio springs .
the comal springs dryopid beetle is known from comal springs and fern bank springs ( hays county ) . the exact depth and subterranean extent of the range of the comal springs dryopid beetle is not precisely known because of a lack of methodologies available for studying karst aquifer systems and the organisms that inhabit such systems . presumably an interconnected area , the subterranean portion of this habitat , provides for feeding , growth , survival , and reproduction of the comal springs dryopid beetle . however , no specimens have appeared in collections from 22 artesian and pumped wells flowing from the edwards aquifer , suggesting this species may be confined to small areas surrounding the spring openings and is not distributed throughout the aquifer ( barr , 1993 ) . barr ( 1993 ) also surveyed nine springs in bexar , comal , and hays counties considered most likely to provide habitat for endemic invertebrates and found stygoparnus comalensis only at comal and fern bank springs .
peck ' s cave amphipod is a subterranean , aquatic crustacean in the family crangonyctidae . like all members of the exclusively subterranean genus stygobromus , this species is eyeless and unpigmented . the fish and wildlife service has used
cave amphipod
as a generic common name for members of this genus , and this name was simply transliterated as
peck ' s cave amphipod
without reference to a particular cave .
over 300 specimens of peck ' s cave amphipod have been collected since its description . most specimens were netted from crevices in rock and gravel near the three largest orifices of comal springs on the west side of landa park in comal county
. despite extensive collecting efforts , no specimens have been found in other areas of the edwards aquifer , indicating that its primary habitat is a zone of permanent darkness in the underground aquifer feeding the springs . above ground , individuals are easy prey for predators , but they usually take shelter in the rock and gravel crevices and may succeed in reentering the spring orifice . in 1993 barr got most specimens in drift nets at spring orifices and found them less often as she moved downstream , supporting the notion they may be easy prey and do not likely survive for long outside the aquifer .
nothing is known about whether this species may have historically ranged in other springs that are now dry almost all the time , such as san pedro springs and san antonio springs . the first recorded specimen was collected by peck at comal springs in june 1964 . reddell collected a second specimen at the same place in may 1965 . in 1967 , holsinger named the species stygonectes pecki , in peck ' s honor , selecting the 1965 specimen as the type specimen . later he included all the nominal stygonectes species in the synonymy of the large genus stygobromus .
peck ' s cave amphipod is known from comal springs and hueco springs , both in comal county . the exact depth and subterranean extent of the ranges of this species is not precisely known because of a lack of methodologies available for studying karst aquifer systems and the organisms that inhabit such systems . presumably an interconnected area , the subterranean portion of this habitat , provides for feeding , growth , survival , and reproduction of the peck ' s cave amphipod . however , no specimens have appeared in collections from 22 artesian and pumped wells flowing from the edwards aquifer ( barr , 1993 ) , suggesting this species may be confined to small areas surrounding the spring openings and is not distributed throughout the aquifer . barr also surveyed nine springs in bexar , comal , and hays counties considered most likely to provide habitat for endemic invertebrates and found stygobromus pecki only at comal and hueco springs .
conservation and management of the peck ' s cave amphipod , comal springs riffle beetle , and comal springs dryopid beetle are likely to involve protection and conservation of the edwards aquifer and springflow at comal , hueco , san marcos , and fern bank springs . these species ' very limited habitat is likely to be lost through drying or decreased volume of springflow during minor or severe drought . it is likely the effect of natural droughts in south central texas will increase in severity because of the large increase in human groundwater withdrawals . many possible effects of reduced springflow exist . these include changes in the chemical composition of the water in the aquifer and at the springs , a decrease in current velocity and corresponding increase in siltation , and an increase in temperature and temperature fluctuations in the aquatic habitat ( mckinney & watkins , 1993 ) .
another threat to the habitat of these species is the potential for groundwater contamination . pollutants of concern include those associated with human sewage , leaking underground storage tanks , animal / feedlot waste , agricultural chemicals ( especially insecticides , herbicides , and fertilizers ) and urban runoff ( including pesticides , fertilizers , and detergents ) .
pipeline , highway , and railway transportation of hydrocarbons and other potentially harmful materials in the edwards aquifer recharge zone and its watershed , with the attendant possibility of accidents , present a particular risk to water quality in comal and san marcos springs . comal and san marcos springs are both located in urbanized areas . hueco springs is located alongside river road , which is heavily traveled for recreation on the guadalupe river , and may be susceptible to road runoff and spills related to traffic . fern bank springs is in a relatively remote , rural location and its principal vulnerability is probably to contaminants associated with leaking septic tanks , animal / feedlot wastes , and agricultural chemicals .
although these species are fully aquatic and two of the three require flowing water for respiration , the absolute low water limits for survival are not known . they survived the drought of the middle 1950 ' s , which resulted in cessation of flow at comal springs from june 13 through november 3 , 1956 . hueco springs is documented to have gone dry in the past
these invertebrates were not extirpated by the only recorded temporary cessation of springflow . however , given that they are fully aquatic and that no water was present in the springs for a period of several months , they were probably negatively impacted . these species are not likely adapted to surviving long periods of drying ( up to several years in duration ) that may occur in the absence of a water management plan for the edwards aquifer that accommodates the needs of these invertebrates .
stagnation of water may be a limiting condition , particularly for the comal springs dryopid beetle and peck ' s cave amphipod . stagnation of water and / or drying within the spring runs and the photic ( lighted ) zone of the spring orifices would probably be limiting for the comal springs riffle beetle because natural water flow is considered important to the respiration and therefore survival of this invertebrate species . elmid and dryopid beetles have a mass of tiny , hydrophobic ( unwettable ) hairs on their underside where they maintain a thin bubble of air through which gas exchange occurs ( chapman , 1982 ) . this method of respiration loses its effectiveness as the level of dissolved oxygen in the water decreases . a number of aquatic insects that use dissolved oxygen rely on flowing water to obtain oxygen .
at present , competition is not known to be a significant threat to these species . however , two exotic snail species , thiara granifera and thiara tuberculata , are common in the spring runs and , as grazers , may compete for food . another exotic species , the giant ramshorn snail ( marisa cornuarietis ) , is present in two of the spring runs and may colonize the other runs at low flow levels . marisa can have a tremendous impact on vegetation , that in turn may affect the habitat for surface - dwelling grazers like the riffle beetle .
in july of 2007 , the u . s . fish and wildlife service designated about 50 acres around four edwards springs as critical habitat for aquatic invertebrate species . although they were listed in 1997 , the u . s . fish & wildlife service did not designate any critical habitat , leading to a 2003 lawsuit by the center for biological diversity . under the bush administration , fish & wildlife service officials contended that designating critical habitat has little effect on protecting species . the center for biological diversity disagreed , and the wildlife service made the designation as part of a settlement . such a designation requires federal agencies to analyze activities they undertake , fund , or permit to determine if there may be any harm to the species ' habitat . if so , they must consult with the fish & wildlife service to determine how to eliminate or reduce the impacts to an acceptable level .
the initial designation of 50 acres as critical habitat was deemed insufficient by scientists because it included only surface water and not the underground orifices critical to the species’ survival . so the center for biological diversity and its allies filed suit again , resulting in a new proposal that was announced in october 2012 .
the new proposal expands the critical habitat and includes new subsurface areas for the dryopid beetle and the peck’s cave amphipod . in all , 169 acres of critical habitat are being proposed . the habitat areas overlap and consist of 39 acres of surface habitat and 139 acres of subsurface habitat for the comal springs dryopid beetle ; 38 surface acres and 138 subsurface acres for the peck’s cave amphipod ; and 54 acres of protected surface habitat for the comal springs riffle beetle .
in 1992 , several local groups , ( the alamo group of the sierra club , the balcones canyonlands conservation coalition , the helotes creek association , the texas cave management association , and texas speleological association ) petitioned the us fish and wildlife service to add the nine species of karst invertebrates to the list of threatened and endangered wildlife . the nine species of invertebrates are known only from caves in the northern and northwest parts of bexar county . in december 2000 the fish and wildlife service designated the nine species as endangered under the endangered species act .
invertebrates are animals without internal skeletons or backbones such as butterflies , beetles , grasshoppers and spiders . the nine bexar county species listed as endangered include three beetles , five spiders , and one harvestman , a relative of the common household daddy - longlegs . although small , ranging from less than 2 millimeters to 9 millimeters long , and generally overlooked because they spend their entire lives underground , these invertebrates are biologically and ecologically unique . they resemble creatures out of tim burton ' s animation , with eyes that are either very small or entirely absent , and bodies that are long and thin , with no coloration , appearing white but actually being transparent .
four of the species are currently only known from one cave and three others are only known from two to eight caves . it is likely these species also exist in other caves on private property which the fish & wildlife service were not allowed to inspect . although these species are known only from caves , they may also use karst passages that are too small for people or that have no known entrance at the surface . the number of caves known to contain these species is likely to increase in the future as more caves are discovered and inspected . the listing of these species was not based on a known decline in the number of individuals or the known locations , but rather on evidence that all these species are subject to threats to their continued existence throughout all or most of their range .
these species are currently being threatened by the rapid pace of development around san antonio and northern bexar county . development can degrade the cave environment through increased vandalism , contamination from sewer or septic tank leaks , storm water run - off , pesticides , or chemical spills . development can also destroy the cave outright through digging or filling . these species are also threatened by the invasion of non - native fire ants which can prey upon them as well as compete with them for their limited sources of food .
a number of the caves where these species are found are located on the texas parks and wildlife department ' s government canyon state natural area and the u . s . army ' s camp bullis , both of which have developed and implemented protective management plans .
the invertebrates are highly adapted to their underground home , an environment which has a very stable temperature ; very high , constant humidity ; and little food . the lack of food and stability of their environment leads to an ecosystem with very few species . this makes cave environments valuable areas for ecological research . it also means that a sudden change in the environment or loss of a species could quickly wipe out the entire ecosystem .
ecologically , cave invertebrates can be described as more similar to large mammals like elephants than to their invertebrate cousins which live on the surface . like elephants , they have few offspring and live relatively long lives ( for invertebrates ) , a characteristic ecologists call
k - selected
. this also means their populations are more sensitive to losing even fairly small numbers of individuals , and that it takes a long time for their population sizes to recover from any catastrophe .
the surface environment of karst areas is also an integral part of the habitat needed by the animals inhabiting the underground areas . because plants cannot grow in the blackness of caves , the cave ecosystem is entirely dependent on input from the outside . food in a cave can come either through animals that cave biologists call
trogloxenes
, which roost in the cave but forage for food on the outside , like bats , mice , or cave crickets , or through organic material like leaves being washed into the cave entrance or filtered in through the ground above the cave . mammal feces provide a medium for the growth of fungi and , subsequently , localized population blooms of several species of tiny , hopping insects . these insects reproduce rapidly on rich food sources and may become prey for some predatory cave invertebrates . the nine listed invertebrates are probably predaceous and eat the eggs , larvae , or adults of other cave invertebrates .