EuroSpeleo 2016 Sessions

Zoological Results of the British Speleological Expedition to Papua New Guinea 1975

Session code: OS21

Oral / Science, Main EuroSpeleo Conference

Mr Petar Beron

Summary

List of everything published so far from the material collected during the expedition, bibliography, list of the new taxa and the main conclusions from the material identified so far. It remains the most important contribution to the biospeleology of New Guinea so far, with important theoretical contributions to the theory of troglomorphogenesis. In the caves at 1700 - 3000 m the temperature is comparable to the one of mediterranean caves, and the long list of troglomorphic animals proves that temperature is important for the troglomorphogenesis. Another important discovery were the stygobites (Gastropoda, Isopoda Anthurides and Polychaet worms) of marine origin, found high in the mountains and very far from any sea. Substantiol part of the material is still under sttudy.