The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : Corrections and Clarifications

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Thursday, Apr 26, 2007
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Opinion

Opinion - News Analysis

Corrections and Clarifications

A Guardian report "Blind spiders halt mining project" ("Newscape" page, April 1, 2007), on how a $10 billion mining project in western Australia has been blocked after the discovery of tiny, blind spider-like creatures at the site, had the repeated use of the word "troglobite" to describe the tiny creatures. A reader said these creatures should be called troglodytes and wondered whether troglobite is a neologism. Ian Sample, the writer of the report, clarifies, in response to a query to the office of the Readers' Editor, The Guardian, that troglobite is not a neologism as such. It is the name given to these blind creatures that evolve in complete darkness, but the link with the word "troglodyte" is there. Troglobites are animals that live in caves and are unable to live outside of it. Most of them are white or transparent and even short exposure to sunlight may be lethal. A troglodyte, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, may be "one of various races or tribes of men (chiefly ancient or prehistoric) inhabiting caves or dens; a cave-dweller." There is also an interesting use of terms when it comes to caves. There are three terms: troglobites, troglophiles and trogloxenes. Troglo is a prefix derived from the Greek word meaning "hole," and a troglobite is one who lives in such a hole. A troglodyte is one who "gets or goes into" such a hole. A troglophile is a cave-dwelling animal that does not live entirely in the dark. It can live all its life either inside or outside a cave. A trogloxene is defined as "an organism that regularly or accidentally enters a cave but must return to the surface to maintain its existence."

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