Endangered
Typhlocaris galilea
Typhlocaris galilea
Typhlocaris galilea is a troglobitic shrimp in the genus Typhlocaris, and is endemic to one pool and spring that feeds it, at Tabgha in Israel.
The crayfish or crab
Adult specimens are approximately 3 inches (7.6 cm) long.
Description The relict species was first described in 1909, by William Thomas Calman.
Range and habitat
The shrimp is endemic to one chamber of a Roman cistern, Ein-Nur octagonal pool (the private property of a monastery, at 32.8736°N 35.5493°E / 32.8736. 35.5493), and a warm (27 °C or 81 °F), sulphuric, saline subterranean spring that feeds it, at Tabgha, on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Typhlocaris galilea is a troglobitic shrimp in the genus Typhlocaris, and is endemic to one pool and spring that feeds it, at Tabgha in Israel.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Habits
Freshwater crayfishes and crabs walk the bed. Dams, silt, and introduced species cut a drainage into fragments they cannot cross.
Crayfishes and crabs need cover and clean water. A named form from one creek is not interchangeable with the next drainage.
In crisis
The species is critically endangered and a conservation programme to conserve the species has begun. The species is now critically endangered, as the extraction of ground water has allowed foreign water into the pool, changing its composition and temperature. In 2013, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority approached the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo to develop a captive breeding programme for the species, with a view to later reintroduction.
Typhlocaris galilea is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Typhlocaris galilea, Wikidata item Q12410019. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
