Surveyed two caves in Putnam Co, TN outside of Cookeville along the Cumberland Plateau for cavefish and salamanders with Brian Miller, his son Joshua Miller, Mark Thurman with TWRA, and Thany Mann. First went to TPU431, a spring cave in the St. Louis Limestone. It was a pretty diverse cave with:
Typhlichthys subterraneus (Southern Cavefish) 2
Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Spring Salamander) 1
Eurycea longicauda longicauda (Longtail Salamander) 1
Eurycea lucifuga (Cave Salamander) 15
Rana palustris (Pickerel Frog) 4
Orconectes australis (A Cave Crayfish) 25
Outside of the cave, we found Plethodon dorsalis (Northern Zigzag Salamander) and a couple Desmognathus conanti (Spotted Dusky Salamander) in the stream.
Afterwards, we headed to TPU128 developed in the St. Louis Limestone. This cave lacked the amphibian diversity of the other cave but a large population of southern cavefish was observed:
Typhlichthys subterraneus (Southern Cavefish) 117
Ameiurus natalis (Yellow Bullhead) 2
Pimephales sp.
Eurycea lucifuga (Cave Salamander) 3
Orconectes australis (A Cave Crayfish) 50+
Troglobitic Phalangid 3
We also saw two YOY Plethodon dorsalis on the moss-covered bluff walls at the entrance.
Some photographs:
Typhlichthys subterraneus (Southern Cavefish)
A Troglobitic Phalangid
Eurycea lucifuga (Cave Salamander)
Plethodon dorsalis (Northern Zigzag Salamander)
