''Lirceus usdagalun'' is a rare species of

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

known by the common name Lee County cave isopod. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in the United States, where it is known from a single network of

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

cave systems in Lee County. It is threatened by a number of processes. It is a federally listed

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

of the United States.USFWS
ETWP; Determination of Endangered Status for the Lee County Cave Isopod (''Lirceus usdagalun'').
''Federal Register'' November 20, 1992. This

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

is a

troglobite A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

, an organism that spends its entire life in caves. It is roughly 7 millimeters long. It lacks eyes and pigmentation. It is flattened and has seven pairs of appendages.USFWS
''Lirceus usdagalun'' Recovery Plan.
September 30, 1997. The species name, ''usdagalun'', is from a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

word meaning "cave" or "hole under rock". This organism is endemic to The Cedars, a cave region in the Powell River Valley of southwestern corner of Virginia. It is known from four cave systems. When it was listed as an endangered species, only two populations were known, one of which was thought to have been extirpated by

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

from

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

sawdust. This population has since re-established itself in the cave after abatement of the pollution.USFWS
''Lirceus usdagalun'' Five-year Review.
September 2008. The isopod is sensitive to changes in water quality.''Lirceus usdagalun''.
NatureServe. The isopod lives underwater on rocks and gravel in caves. It is associated with other cave organisms, including the isopod '' Caecidotea recurvata'', the

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

'' Crangonyx antennatus'', snails (genus ''

Fontigens ''Fontigens'' is a genus of minute freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod molluscs or micromolluscs in the family Hydrobiidae Hydrobiidae, commonly known as mud snails, is a large cosmopolitan family of very small freshw ...

''), and

planarian A planarian is one of the many flatworms of the traditional class Turbellaria. It usually describes free-living flatworms of the order Tricladida (triclads), although this common name is also used for a wide number of free-living platyhelmint ...

s (genus '' Sphalloplana''). At least 33 rare species of animals and plants are found at The Cedars.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q308022 Asellota Crustaceans of the United States Cave crustaceans Endemic fauna of Virginia Freshwater crustaceans of North America Ecology of the Appalachian Mountains Lee County, Virginia IUCN Red List endangered species Endangered fauna of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot ESA endangered species Crustaceans described in 1973