Several of these blind creatures are nocturnal or live underground, in gloomy habitats in which other senses play a significant part in their everyday lives.
Their smell, taste, hearing, and touch are extremely sensitive, enabling these species to “understand” the environment in ways that animals that can see do not.
Certain animals in ordinarily seen species are blind from birth or lose their sight at some point in life. This is caused by genetics, traumatic incidents, or other external factors.
One of the cave-dwelling species that includes several blind animals is the troglobites.
In this post, we’ll learn about seven distinct types of blind creatures, as well as their ecosystems and activities. So, keep on reading to find out more!
Eyeless Huntsman Spider
Although many of the species in this family are similar to other huntsman spiders, the eyeless huntsman is distinguished by its absence of eyes and coloring.
The eyeless huntsman, who lives in caverns in Laos, preys on other arthropods that live in caves with phenomenal success.
This light-colored spider lives in caves alongside fish, crustaceans, scorpions, and other creatures that are nowadays adaptable to darker habitats.
The eyeless huntsman is a little spider that is just 1 or 2 inches long and has a leg span of around 2 inches.
Whereas many names of these species have a historical background that justifies them, “scurion” is particularly fascinating because of its sarcasm; scurion is the name of a firm that manufactures strong cave-diving lighting equipment that brightens up even the deepest caverns.
Kaua’i Cave Wolf Spider
This eyeless cave spider is only found in the Koloa District on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i.
This creature is similar to several other wolf spiders in that it carries its offspring on its back.
Although several wolf spider species travel fast across their terrestrial environments, this cave spider moves more slowly and detects food by touch.
Many wolf spider types are brown, grey, or black in color; this variety, however, has silver hair covering its midsection and legs, giving it a faint, haunting look. It’s also tiny for a wolf spider, having a leg span of 1 ½ inch.
Star-Nosed Mole
Moles generally have a weak vision. The star-nosed mole is another creature that is 100% blind, while its name gives away its looks. The star-nosed mole’s nostrils contain a star-shaped cluster of 22 tentacles.
These moles, like other blind creatures, have acquired additional acute senses, including touch. They utilize their star-shaped noses and tentacles to sense their surroundings.
Their noses’ tentacles are extremely powerful to the point that they can move at such a high speed that can create a blurry effect for the human eye.
Same as the rest of the species, this mole has a big, sturdy body and strong, muscular front legs with huge claws.
However, in contrast to other moles, this one spends hours and hours above ground as well as underneath, where it eats different kinds of invertebrates.
This species is more susceptible to attackers than many other mole species because of its land and watery lifestyles.
Texas Blind Salamander
The Texas blind salamander, along with many other blind creatures, has a distinct home in a small radius. This animal dwells in the caverns of the Edwards Aquifer’s San Marcos Pool in Texas.
The reason why it lives there is that the specific water’s temperature of 70 to 73 ℉, is essential for its survival.
Since these salamanders live in caves characterized by their total darkness, their evolution over the ages now allows them to comfortably survive with no sight. Their eyeballs can still be seen, but they are inert.
The exterior gills of the Texas blind salamander is of a vivid red color, which contrasts sharply with their entirely white skin.
Olm
The olm is the European equivalent of the Texas blind salamander. These cave-dwelling salamanders from Southeast Europe have the red exterior gills of their American relatives, and many other distinguishing characteristics.
Olms may survive in deep watery caverns for up to 100 years.
They can also spend many years with no food, a skill which allows them to survive in some of the environments they live in where the food sources are limited or even non-existent.
The way the olms perceive their surroundings is with their sense of hearing, and their ability to sense vibration both underwater and on land.
Mexican Cavefish
This is yet another animal with no eyes and hence no sight. In the wider Mexican Cavefish family, there are several species that live either on its surface or in caves.
Based on where they live, species differ substantially from each other.
Those who live on the surface, for example, form some kind of society. On the other hand, those that live in caves are autonomous creatures.
Although many of the blind species on this list evolved over thousands of years, the Mexican Cavefish took a different path.
Rather than genetic changes preventing eye formation, the genetics in this species appears to have been “turned off.”
Hydra
Despite their resemblance to sea anemones, hydras live in freshwaters. Their tube-like bodies can contract, rendering them practically undetectable to the human eye.
Hydras are available in several hues such as green, grey, cream, orange, and pink. When stretched wide, they can grow to be 1⁄2 to 2-inches long, depending on their variety.
These small invertebrates can adhere to all kinds of surfaces beneath the sea thanks to a small “foot.”
To reach their destinations, they “march” with their foot, or perform slow flips. Just like jellyfish, they employ their tentacles to sting and then immobilize their victims.
Summary
There you have it! These are seven creatures of the animal kingdom that have all their senses except for one; their sight. However, as you can see, they are doing just fine even without it they have fully adapted to this condition.
Even more so, their blindness has allowed them to develop their other senses to a much greater level, so they can easily survive in this world.
Hi, I’m Olivia Kepner and I am a zookeeper here in San Diego. Since I was a young girl I have always been fascinated by animals and species across the globe.
I used to beg my parents to take me to our local zoo every single weekend. Well, I say local – it was more like a two hour drive away. But they took me as much as they could, allowing me to fall in love with the animals again and again.
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