CRAGSMOOR � Tiny amphipods, shrimp-like creatures about the size of a grain of rice, have been discovered living in the ice caves of Sam's Point Preserve. The discovery of the sightless, albino crustaceans, which could turn out to be a fairly significant scientific find, was made several weeks ago by Luis Espinasa, a professor of biology at Marist College.

What is most interesting about this discovery, Espinasa says, is the evolutionary profile of the amphipods. This part of North America, 12,000 years ago, was covered by ice sheets two-miles thick. As the ice sheets retreated, animals of all sorts began to move into the areas that were newly exposed, with a few eventually making their way into the cave systems in and around Sam's Point. The creatures that became trapped in these systems have had little to no exposure to sunlight and are in the process of losing their eyesight and pigmentation. They have also grown to a size approximately three-times as large as the amphipods that live above ground. Espinasa says that this gigantism is due to the lack of predators in the caves.

"It would be like having a human being who is 6 meters [about 18 feet] tall," says Espinasa.

Typically, this type of cave systems is made of limestone or other types of softer rocks, and can take millions of years form. This means that the evolutionary process associated with limestone caves also has millions of years in which to transform a bio-organism into a species adapted to live in a totally lightless environment. The ice caves at Sam's Point differ, however, in that the short timeframe associated with their existence � less than 12,000 years � means that scientists will be able to study this transformation as it is actually occurring.

"We're seeing evolution as it's happening," Espinasa says.

The biological term for this is "regressive evolution," and it is this particular feature, according to Espinasa, that makes this discovery one of fairly significant scientific interest, one that will likely capture the attention of his fellow biologists.

Geologists, too, will likely be interested in the group's findings, as caves this extensive � some are as long as 300 feet � aren't typically found in areas that have in the past experienced a significant amount of glacial activity.

"What we've shown is that these types of caves are fairly abundant in this area," Espinasa says.

Initially, however, Espinasa says that felt that it was unlikely that the caves would hold bio-organisms, though he did think it was possible something might dwell in the pools of water that form in the cracks and crevices that perforate the system.

"Since it was a cave, and since I do cave biology, I thought 'let's see if there's something there,'" Espinasa says.

And it wasn't just the amphipods that were discovered. As it turns out, the caves also hold a species of flatworm that exhibits similar characteristics to that of the amphipods. These worms � which are also similar to those found in the surrounding, above-ground area � have eyes that are at an in-between stage when it comes to evolution. Some of the worms have eyes, but they're poorly developed; others have asymmetrical eyes, meaning that one eye is big and the other small; while still others have no eyes at all.

Espinasa feels that, after a thorough study is conducted, he feels fairly certain that the amphipods and the flatworms will be classified as species endemic to these particular caves. In plain English, this means that the animals in question are an entirely new species previously unknown to science. Given that Sam's Point Preserve already holds a number of species that are entirely unique, Espinasa feels that this will only help to raise the profile of the preserve as a special place that is in need of long-term preservation.

The find occurred as Espinasa and his kids were on a family outing at the ice caves. In fact, it was Espinasa's son, Jordy, who made the initial discovery, according to the professor. Jordy apparently saw something small and white swimming in the water and called his father over to investigate.

"He said, 'Papi, look; there's something here!" Espinasa says.

Several weeks later Espinasa went back to Sam's Point with his colleague, Professor Amy Cahill, and a group of students from his invertebrate zoology course. The group was able to isolate the small creatures � a species of amphipod similar to those that populate the streams and tributaries in the surrounding area � and they have since transferred a number of these amphipods to a small aquarium in the Sam's Point Visitors Center. After several weeks in the aquarium, the small creatures can still be seen swimming around and are apparently surviving very nicely on fish food, according to Espinasa.

Espinasa, Cahill, and their group of students will continue to study the caves as long as the weather will allow them access. They hope to answer a number of questions about these bio-organisms. For example, how do they survive during the winter when the vast majority of the water trickling into the caves freezes? Do they go into some sort of suspended animation, or, more likely, is there enough standing water in caves to allow these creatures to survive the harsh winter?

For now Espinosa, Cahill, and students, will continue spelunk their way through several unexplored passages over the coming winter and spring.