South Korean caves are teeming with creatures with dragon-like features. They are completely blind

Caves in South Korea are teeming with a dragon-like creature, although it is completely blind. These creepy-crawlies are four new species discovered by Kyung–Hoon Jeong, a researcher at Jeonbuk National University, in different caves. The creatures belong to the dragon pseudoscorpion family and are arthropods, only about 1-3mm long. The term dragon is used for them because of their gigantic jaws that resemble those of "dragons in ancient mythology,” Kyung–Hoon Jeong told BBC. Their mouths are known as chelicerae in scientific terms and are used to capture prey. Despite having a dragon feature, the peculiar thing about these species is that they are blind. This is because of their habitat. Also Read: Scientists stumbled upon four pitch-black eggs 20,000 feet below ocean. They turned out to be...

The critters live in completely dark places in the caves, and so they do not have a need to see anything. Hence, they do not have visionary powers. The same is true for their colour. Because they never leave the caves, their bodies have no need to adapt to withstand the harsh rays of the sun. This leads to them having a pale colour. The newly discovered species found in the South Korean caves are believed to only exist here. However, most dragon-like pseudoscorpions are not native to South Korea, and one particular species has been found almost everywhere. The only exception is Antarctica. Also Read: Scientists detect secret chambers and staircase under Great Sphinx, adding to evidence for lost city

South Korea has nearly 1,000 caves, and most of them are yet to be explored. Kyung–Hoon believes several species of pseudoscorpion, unknown to scientists, inhabit these caves. However, the challenge in discovering them lies in the fact that the changing climate is also affecting these caves and the species that live in them. Researchers say it is important to better understand the caves’ biodiversity in order to protect the pseudoscorpions and other critters crawling in them. More research and expeditions need to be carried out at these caves to discover the other species that have been living in them but remain a secret.