The groundwater-dwelling fauna of Southeast Asia

Abstract

Groundwater fauna consists of organisms that are adapted to live their whole life-time in different types of groundwater (=aquifers): with fissured (karstic) and porous (alluvium) types as the most common. About 3800 species of obligate groundwater species (stygobionts) have been recorded worldwide and 2000 of them from groundwater in Europe. Before 1970, 19 species of stygobionts were known from Southeast Asia. After 1980, the number of stygobionts from this region started to increase, and, at present, 122 stygobionts are known here. Most of them are crustaceans, with the Copepoda, Isopoda, Amphipoda and Decapoda as the most abundant groups. Intensification of research on groundwater fauna can considerably increase the total number of stygobionts known from the region, which could rises up to several times the current tally if the intensity of research was comparable with that in Europe.

Keywords

• Caves, groundwater fauna, karst, Southeast Asia, stygobionts.