Help the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion

In order for the tooth cave pseudoscorpion to survive it requires specific environmental conditions. It lives deep in caves and needs that habitat to go untouched by humans. The climate and chemical make up of its surroundings are imperative to its survival. The conservation of the tooth cave pseudoscorpion could be greatly benefited by gaining knowledge about its genetic fingerprint. With genetic fingerprinting, this small creature could be much more greatly understood and in turn, possibly be aided in survival. By understanding the genetic composition of the extremely sensitive creature, the exact conditions for its survival could even potentially be recreated in other places than its natural habitat. The fingerprinting could isolate the genes that create the sensitivity to environmental factors.
Another beneficial experiment for the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion is genetic modification. After the fingerprinting is completed then a genetic modification could be explored. The cause for sensitivity to environmental factors could be pin pointed and then corrected. By doing this, the survival rate of the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion could be vastly improved in a relatively short period. In order for the experimentation to be successful there would need to be a kind of vaccine or something of the like introduced into the system of the creature. It would take some time to be sure that the “cure” to the sensitivity would not be an actual killer, but after carefully reviewing all possible reactions the cure could be very effective. It could be injected into some of the small bugs that the pseudoscorpion eats. This way the actual creature would not have to be poked or messed with. This eliminates a degree of human interaction that could be detrimental to the pseudoscorpion.

Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion Bio

Hello, and welcome to this very special edition of Texas Creatures I am your host Cali Wright. Today we will learn about some very special little guys that are endangered, the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion. Scientifically called Tartarocreagris texana, this tiny invertebrate has a large name for a tiny physical size, about 3/16 in. only the size of a grain of rice.

As always, we must give a full introduction of our topic before we dive into the discussion. The Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion is native to Travis County Texas. A little family history, he belongs to the Animalia kingdom in the Arachnida class. In addition, this little guy has been endangered since 1988! That is a long time for the tiny invertebrate to hang on.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/tooth_cave_pseudoscorpio.htm

The Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion looks like an eyeless, tailless scorpion. Although not much is known about its day-to-day living, this under-rock dwelling creature is very uncommon because of all the construction and urban sprawl in its native Austin Texas. In order to successfully survive, the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion must live in a high humidity environment with stable temperatures according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Some caves where they once lived have even been covered and filled in.

These invertebrates do not have eyes to rely on, nor could they see well in the depths of a cave, so they rely primarily on their pinchers to capture prey. Unlike the scorpions we are used to seeing, this creature cannot use its poison tail to paralyze its prey before consuming it. It does however, possess venom that aides in the capture and intake of its prey. There have been many other uses found by bioprospectors, scientists who study the uses of venoms, for the venoms of invertebrates. Little is known about the specifics of the Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion, so it is distinctly possible that this extinct invertebrate could hold the cure for any number of ailments.

The Tooth Cave pseudoscorpion is listed as an endangered species. The Balcones Canyonlands Preserve (BCP) in Travis County Texas protects this tiny creature’s habitat along with only five other invertebrates native to the area. The BCP is “among the nation’s largest urban preserve systems” according to the Travis County official web site. Perhaps the real value of this creature’s conservation is yet to be discovered.

It is important to consider even the smallest organisms. When expanding our habitat we have to be careful not to destroy another one, who knows, we could accidentally destroy the cure for cancer.
Until next time, I am Cali and this has been another informative episode of Texas Creatures.

Sources:

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/SpeciesReport.do?spcode=J00A

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/tpseudoscorpion/

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/bccp/species.asp