Trichomycterus santanderensis

Ecological data: The Cave El Puente is located in the center of a mountain to the west of the Andean mountain range in Colombia and is not registered in the speleological inventory of Santander. The cave is oriented vertically with narrow, rocky passageways and galleries (Fig. 4) where water infiltration was observed. The wells are small, shallow, blocked by ceilings of rock and interconnected by reduced descending channels that drain the limited water flow. Water temperature during the sampling was 21.5 ° C and cave temperature was 19.9 ° C. The bottom of the wells is rocky and contains much sediment (only four specimens of T. santanderensis were collected here). Bloodsucking bats and a diversity of arthropods inhabit the interior of the galleries. The cave is located in an area untouched by agrochemical products, where the practice of sustainable agroforestry has maintained the flora and fauna relatively well conserved, and where the Autonomous Regional Corporation for the Defense of the Bucaramanga Plateau is preparing a conservation program (Castellanos, 2005).