biospelaeologybiospeleologyn.
/ˌbʌɪə(ʊ)ˌspiːlɪˈɒlədʒi/, U.S. /ˌbaɪoʊˌspiliˈɑlədʒi/ The study of the living organisms found in caves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [noun] > fauna of caves
biospelaeology1947
1947 New Biol. 3 103 Small bands of enthusiastic workers, like those who laid the foundations of biospelæology, can hardly be expected to produce rapid results.
1965 B. E. Freeman tr. A. Vandel Biospeleol. (title) Biospeleology: the biology of cavernicolous animals.
2001 Science 28 Sept. 2378/2 Biologists are rethinking old generalizations about underground ecology and evolution, according to reports at a recent symposium on biospeleology (that is, cave biology).
Derivatives
biospelaeoˈlogical adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > zoology > study of specific types of animal > [adjective] > fauna of caves
biospelaeological1953
1953 Hazelton & Glennie in C. H. D. Cullingford Brit. Caving ix. 248 British biospeleological literature is necessarily scanty.
1998 Coleopterists Bull. 52 351 We have carried out biospeleological expeditions in the Cantabrian karst region during the last 20 years.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1947