Historically, cave fauna, and any biota for that matter, were largely studied from a taxonomic perspective. With the advent of interest in species diversity in the late 1960’s and especially with the interest in biodiversity and biodiversity hotspots in the late 1980’s, the focus changed. Studies of cave fauna reflected the changing research agendas. In this bibliographic review, we examine five areas of interest: 1) National cave fauna studies; 2) Regional and local cave fauna studies in the Appalachians; 3) A summary of the major taxonomic studies; 4) Previous mapping of biodiversity in the region and the techniques employed; 5) Models for explaining subterranean biodiversity patterns, both in the Appalachians and elsewhere.
