History of biological investigations at Batu caves, Malaysia, and consequences for the progress of tropical speleobiology: Part 1 - the 19~(th) century

摘要

Until the 1970s speleobiologists mistakenly believed that troglobionts - highly adapted obligate subterranean animals - were rare or absent in tropical regions. This error probably held back the development of tropical cave biology for several decades. It is argued here that the mistake originated in the late 1890s during an investigation of Batu caves by the prestigious British Association for the Advancement of Science. Part 1 of this paper describes these events in the context of the development of speleobiology during the 19~(th) century.