Coffin Cave Mold Beetle

(Batrisodes texanus)

Date of Listing: Endangered, 1988

The Coffin Cave Mold Beetle is a small, long-legged beetle with short wings. It lives in total darkness and has no eyes. The Coffin Cave Mold Beetle is the only one of the endangered invertebrates found only in Williamson County.

TThe primary threat to the Coffin Cave Mold Beetle and other endangered cave invertebrates is the loss of habitat due to urban development. Many caves have been paved over or filled in. Other caves have been altered so that they no longer provide the stable temperatures and high humidities needed to support these animals. Contamination by pollutants is also a threat to their survival.

Size:

About 2.6 to 2.9 millimeters (less than 1/8 inch).

Diet:

Food preferences unknown.

Habitat (where it lives):

Under rocks in total darkness.

Range (where found in Texas):

Edwards Plateau, Travis County, Texas.

Reproduction:

Does not have seasonal cycles.

Population Numbers:

Unknown.