Overview

• A study published July 9 in PLOS One by Kyung-Hoon Jeong of Jeonbuk National University formally describes four new blind pseudoscorpion species, bringing South Korea’s total cave fauna from five to nine.
• The species—Spelaeochthonius dugigulensis, S. geumgulensis, S. magwihalmigulensis and S. yamigulensis—are each confined to a single cave and exhibit classic troglobitic traits such as depigmentation, loss of vision and enlarged chelicerae.
• Geological analyses indicate these arachnids descend from an East Asian lineage that dispersed across Korea and Japan before the Sea of Japan formed 13–28 million years ago.
• With nearly 1,000 caves in South Korea still largely unexplored, researchers warn that many more undiscovered cave-adapted species may await identification.
• Scientists caution that pollution and climate change threaten these highly specialized, habitat-dependent organisms and urge expanded surveys and conservation measures.