trogloxene

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek τρώγλη (trṓglē, hole) + Ancient Greek ξένος (xénos, foreign, of a stranger).

Noun

trogloxene (plural trogloxenes)

  1. Any organism which sporadically lives in underground habitats such as caves, and cannot live there exclusively.
    • 2014, Raúl Aguilar-Roblero, Mechanisms of Circadian Systems in Animals and Their Clinical Relevance, page 65:
      A basic difference between these two categories is that individual trogloxenes must leave caves periodically in order to complete their life cycles, whereas troglophiles may, if the opportunity presents itself (for instance, as a consequence of dispersion movements, bringing the individual near to contacts with the surface), leave the cave habitat.
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