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Troglobites lose eyes and pigment after generations in total darkness

Troglobites lose eyes and pigment after generations in total darkness

Animals that never leave deep caves — true troglobites — often evolve pale bodies, reduced or absent eyes, and heightened touch, smell, or lateral-line senses.

Maintaining eyesight costs energy where light never arrives, so selection favors other ways to find food and mates in perpetual night. Many species are endemic to a single cave system.

Evolution rewrites bodies for the dark. Troglobites are living proof that a habitat without sun can still sculpt sophisticated life.

Shahzad Mahota Shahzad Mahota @shahzad-mahota

Troglobites lose eyes and pigment after generations in total darkness