Australia: discover 850 new creatures underground

After four years of conducting a comprehensive study of groundwater and caves in central and southern Australia, scientists have found 850 previously unknown species of creatures living underground.

Researchers believe that newly discovered species - including insects, crustaceans, spiders and worms - - only account for one-fifth of the number of species that exist under harsh conditions in remote deep forests. of Australia.

Eyeless fish Milyeringa veritas , one of 850 new species of organisms discovered underground in Australia (Photo: LiveScience)

So far only half of the species have been named, and the rest are called common names: living things in the groundwater called " stygofauna ", living in caves and microscopic soil. called " troglofauna ".

In the stygofauna group, small crustaceans are the majority with 75%, followed by insects, beetles account for about 17%, the rest are other species. In the troglofauna group, the species belonging to the spider class accounts for 50%, insects 25%, the rest are crustaceans and other creatures.

The pseudoscorpion of the troglofauna group (Photo: LiveScience)

" Almost all of them are deficient and completely blind, lack of pigmentation, so they are pale or white " - an evolutionary researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia Andy Austin, told the LiveScience day. 29-9. " These species are very sensitive, particularly the cave insects often have long legs and antennae to feel vibrations and smells because they cannot see the dark underground ."

This new finding poses a number of challenges for conservationists because some of these organisms live in remote areas of Australia, where many of the farms and establishments that can exploit raw materials can be built. moving to their survival in the future.

A new crustacean (Photo: LiveScience)

A new crustacean resembling shrimp (Photo: LiveScience)