Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-12-15
1T DIES IN DAYLIGHT.
But Cavern BEETLES Are Able to
Move About in Pitch
Dark Homes.

The cavern beetle was first discov-
cred 70 years ago in an Austrian cave,
the grotto of Adelsberg. One speci-
men only was caught and, though its
d%iscoverer offered a prize Of SIS for
another, it was IA years before a sec
ond was found.
The cavern beetle has a little round
body, long legs and absolutely no eyes.
Brought out Of its gloomy haunts into
the light Of the sun, it dies almost i'm
mediately. Yet in it's pitch-dark home,
far beneath the surface Of the earth,
it moves with as great rapidity and
certainty as any Of its eyed relatives
On the upper soil.
To make up for its lack of sight it
is provided with antennae Of extraor-
binary length and delicacy. By means
of these it feels its way over the rough
surface of the stone and hunts its prey
other smaller blind insects-with
rapidity and absolute certainty.
The cavern beetle has it's enemies.
The blothrus "a specimen of scorpion)
and the great eyeless spirit hunt it re-
morselessly. Prince K~hevenhuller,
who thoroughly explored these caves
some years ago, describes it as a most
extraordinary sight to watch by the
light of a candle a scorpion, absolutely
eyeless, hunting a beetle, equally
blind, along the cavern wall. Although
the beetle was several feet in front of
the scorpion and divided from it by a
issure in the rock, yet the scorpion
tracked it with absolute and almost
appalling certainty.
The spider found in these caves is
of a lovely ivory white and is able,
like other insects which inhabit the
same subterranean depths, to run
rapidly and find it's way with as pos
itive certainty as if it had eyes and
light to use them. Like several of the
I, others, it, too, perishes if taken out
of the cave. Sunlight seems to wither
and shrivel UP these insects, just 6
if they had been placed in front of q
hot fire.
Yet, in spite of this fact, it Is known
that the blind ave creatures are de,
scended from others which originally
lived in the light of day.
An ordinary proof of this is that
though no faintest ray marks the diff
ference between day and darkness ir
the depths they live in, yet it has beer
ascertained beyond shadow of doub
that those whose ancestors were noe
turnal in their habits still prefer tt
move about during those hours wher
the surface of the earth is in dark
ness.
Numbers of different kinds of fish
are known to live in the gloomy river!
and lakes which exist in all larg,
caves.
At San Marcos, Tex, borings wer'
recently made to provide a water sup
ply for some new fish hatcheries. A
a depth of 1873 feet a great stream o
water was struck, which shot up a
the rate of 1000 gallons a minute
With it came thousands of tiny
shrimp-like creatures, and also
large number of curious little, pale
colored reptiles, provided with Ion,
tails and each having four legs. Thes
tiny monsters were absolutely eyeless
The only trace that they yer pos
sessed such organs are two little blacl
spots above the nostrils.
A similar creature known as the Olr
inhabits the rivers in the Austrian
caves already mentioned. In tn
depths of the 'Planina cave, nearly
mile and a half from the entrance, tn
ohm is most abundant. The water
are fairly alive with them, and whel
some years ago the Archduke Ferdi
nand paid a visit to this cave a ne
was let down and a number Of the lit
tie reptiles caught for his benefit
Chicago Chronicle.