Heliophobe

/ˈhiːliəfoʊb/ noun

Definition

An organism or person that avoids or dislikes sunlight and prefers shade or darkness.

Etymology

From Greek helios (sun) + -phobe (one who fears, from phobos meaning 'fear'). The -phobe suffix became common in English starting in the 19th century.

Kelly Says

Vampire bats are extreme heliophiles, but many cave-dwelling organisms are heliophbes—over evolutionary time, living in darkness, they've lost functional eyes and developed other senses like echolocation instead!

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