Brackenridgia ashleyi (Isopoda: Trichoniscidae): Range extension with notes on ecology

Abstract

We collected Brackenridgia ashleyi from ten caves in Arkansas and Missouri. From the type locality at Tumbling Creek Cave, Taney County, Missouri, we extended the range of the species 138 km north-northeast into Pulaski County, Missouri, 67 km south-southwest into Newton County, Arkansas, and 96 km southeast into Izard County, Arkansas. The new records reported here, in combination with detection of this species at previously inventoried sites, suggest that this species is widely distributed in the Ozarks. However, the relatively intensive sampling efforts required indicate the B. ashleyi is rare and easily overlooked.