CANBERRA, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Australian researchers working alongside cavers have uncovered a remarkable trove of eyeless, cave-adapted invertebrates including spiders, cockroaches, centipedes, and, in a world first, a wasp physically evolved for life in total darkness.

This wasp, the only known species worldwide to exhibit such dramatic adaptations, is completely blind, with no functional eyes, exceptionally long legs and antennae, and highly reduced wings, which is an extraordinary testament to evolution's creativity in the most extreme environments, according to a release from the University of Adelaide on Wednesday.

All the invertebrates, discovered in the cave beneath the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia, were already dead, their bodies mummified and exceptionally preserved by the arid conditions, said Jess Marsh from the University of Adelaide who led the survey.

"The cave contains thousands of such invertebrates. Some, bizarrely, had died mid-way through climbing the cave walls -- caught frozen in time," Marsh said.

Many of these species are new to science, and some may already be extinct. Marsh and her team are now working to determine the age of the specimens, which could range from decades to thousands of years, and to uncover why only dead invertebrates were found.

In a second cave, the team discovered a living population of what is likely a new species of large, eyeless spider -- found only in this location and potentially at high risk of extinction. Evidence of foxes in the cave has raised concerns about the impact of invasive predators on these rare spiders, said Marsh, who is a founder of Invertebrates Australia.

The expedition, undertaken with the Australian Speleological Federation, saw researchers travel over 1.5 km through challenging cave terrain. Despite the difficulties, Marsh described the caves as having "otherworldly beauty" and remarkable biodiversity, the release said.

These discoveries highlight the unique biodiversity of the Nullarbor caves, some of which are threatened by proposed green energy developments, and suggest that many more rare species remain to be found in the region's unexplored cave systems, it said. ■