Recent Advances in the Diversity and Taxonomy of Subterranean Arthropods

The subterranean fauna of arthropods is one of the richest on our planet. At the same time, however, it is still insufficiently researched. The characteristics of the underground environment have led hypogean arthropods to evolve both morphological and physiological adaptations, such as depigmentation, complete loss of eyes, elongation of appendages, slow metabolism, lower energy consumption, and much more. These animals are excellent models to study the general principles of evolution and the mechanisms of adaptation to a new environment. As the diversity of subterranean arthropods has not been sufficiently studied worldwide and most previous studies have focused on faunal diversity, it is desirable to analyse other aspects of the diversity of this particular group of animals, including morphological, molecular, ecological, chemoecological, and behavioural diversity. As the editors’ expertise covers both troglobitic (associated with terrestrial subterranean environment) and stygobitic (associated with all types of subterranean waters) arthropods, this Special Issue Reprint is dedicated to the study of the diversity of both groups. We hope that it will contribute to a better knowledge of the diversity of subterranean arthropods within several biological disciplines, indicating their great importance in the habitats they inhabit and for humans in general.