Beetles, flies, springtails, and other invertebrate groups have evolved specific adaptations to summit conditions over the long period of isolation that the tepui cliffs have imposed.

The summit soils and pools host communities of microorganisms — bacteria, archaea, single-celled eukaryotes — that are still being characterized by scientists and that may include forms not found elsewhere.

Black flies (genus Simulium) on the Roraima summit are notoriously abundant and aggressive.

They breed in the streams and pools of the summit, and they are one of the least pleasant aspects of a summit visit — though they are also, from a biological perspective, an interesting component of the summit ecosystem, as they are prey for some of the carnivorous plants and birds of the plateau.

Why Evolution Works Differently Here