Ohmigod! What is that coming out of that wall?! Heads for scale (they are standing about 10 feet from the wall). What is going on here? As always, first prize is a smirk of arrogant satisfaction, and extra points for outlandishness....we are still in California's Mother Lode region, as in the last few posts.Wednesday, October 20, 2010
A Whatsit for a Wednesday: The Other California Goes Underground
Ohmigod! What is that coming out of that wall?! Heads for scale (they are standing about 10 feet from the wall). What is going on here? As always, first prize is a smirk of arrogant satisfaction, and extra points for outlandishness....we are still in California's Mother Lode region, as in the last few posts.
Glow worms?
ReplyDeleteHelictites- I seem to remember the ones at Mammoth cave are gypsum, but the Wikipedia page says most are calcite or aragonite.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a colony of the albino blind tarantula. Unlike their pigmented topside cousins, they are not blood-sucking hunters. Instead they subsist entirely on microorganisms found in bat guano. They prefer to congregate tightly together for warmth in cleaner areas of the cave and higher up on the walls, rather than immediately under the bats — for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteYour photo shows their unique "freezing in place" behavior. Unlike cockroaches who scurry away in the light, albino blind tarantulas stand motionless until the light goes out. This behavior baffles scientists, as the creatures are indeed blind. The true identity of these animals was only discovered in the last century as their skin twinkles like crystals in artificial light. Thus, they were mis-identified for years as a geological formation, when in fact they are biological. This new classification is still under debate as many geologists are resisting letting go.
PS: Thanks Garry, for letting me have a little fun on your otherwise serious scientific blog.
They look like helectites to me. But I like Sue's answer.
ReplyDeleteNah. The albino tarantulas are frozen in tree roots. The roots are making/following the cracks crust above, in preparation to dumping the tarantulas onto the heads of unwary cavers. Parclair
ReplyDelete