Sunday, October 4, 2020

Nature of Lakeline Cave explored.

Lakeline Cave is one of the lesser known caves of Austin, Texas that only locals and longtime residents seem to know about or have history on. Lakeline Cave is one of the lesser known caves of Cedar Park, Texas as well. Lakeline Cave is also known as Lakeline Mall Cave.


Lakeline Cave is located on a 2.3 acre tract at 2801 S. Lakeline Blvd., immediately north of Lakeline Mall. The entire tract is covered by trees, shrubbery, and caves. (Ref: www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=166006)

Lakeline Cave is a small cave located in a grassy covered area hidden by cedar trees. Lakeline Cave is 6 feet high and 15 feet long. Width of this cave is only a few feet long. So accessibility can be difficult deepening on your size. However there is enough standing room and breathing room. The cave is hollow and has high humidity levels. 



An entrance, which is a crawlway composed of clay, merges to a small room. This small room is only a few feet wide. Now this small room leads to another crawlway. This crawlway is much smaller than the entrance crawlway. This crawlway becomes small quickly and passage splits continuing as a very low squeeze at floor level and as an upper level crawlway. The upper level widens into the Formation Room, an enlarged bedding plane that connects through a small pit to the lower level.  


Lakeline Cave contains the protected harvestman Texella reyesi which is protected because animals of this new species were originally included Texella reddelli, a federally-listed species. Texella reyesi was “known to be endemic to Lakeline Cave”.

Further studies of Texella with additional collections indicate there were two distinct species which were Texella reyesi and Texella reddelli. (Ref: https://digital.lib.usf.edu/content/SF/S0/05/47/93/00001/K26-04344-KIP-00011524.pdf#search=%22lakeline%22)

Reportedly Tooth Cave ground beetles (Rhadine persephone) were observed in this cave. Open grassland with woody vegetation is an ideal habitat for Tooth Cave ground beetles in that preserve. Rhadine n.s. was “known to be endemic to Lakeline Mall Cave”. According to researchers, Rhadine persephone in Lakeline Cave has been discovered to be more active at night. (Ref: http://cavelife.info/pdf/1996%20TX%20recoveryplan.pdf)

Bone Cave harvestmen have been observed living inside of this cave as well. No more than three Bone Cave harvestmen have been observed during any single survey. This included the 12 surveys of Lakeline Cave. (Ref: ZARA 2012, p. 11).

Red fire ants live and inhabit Lakeline Cave. These red fire ants can be see crawling around outside on the perimeter of the cave entrance where an iron gate leads to a small entrance. The small entrance makes accessibility easy for ants to crawl into. Seeing or encountering red fire ants is uncommon when exploring caves in Texas.

The cave also contains 6 other cave-adapted species which include an isopod, a silverfish, and 2 species of millipedes. A pseudoscorpion was confirmed to be existing in there. There are several other species of wildlife living in there too. (Ref: https://www.fws.gov/policy/library/2015/2015-13136.pdf)

Lakeline Cave is located at 2801 South Lakeline Boulevard, Cedar Park, Texas, US 78613.


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