Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Meet the 'King' of a toxic underground ecosystem unlike anywhere else on Earth

#1
C C Offline
https://www.sciencealert.com/this-toxic-...inhabitant

INTRO: The Movile cave in southeast Romania wouldn't be top of your holiday destination list: no light gets down to it, the air is thick with poisonous gases, and it was cut off from the outside world for around 5.5 million years before its accidental discovery in 1986. Life does exist in the Movile though, and scientists have identified the largest creature they've found there yet. It's a troglobiont (or underground) centipede that has been given the name Cryptops speleorex, and it grows up to 52 mm (2 inches) in length.

The discovery takes the number of endemic species unique to the cave to 35, and it's likely that there are many more to be found in this fascinating underground network – even if explorers can only handle about 5-6 hours in the caverns each time. "The centipede we described is a venomous predator, by far the largest of the previously described animals from this cave," say the researchers. "Thinking of its top rank in this subterranean system, we decided to name the species Cryptops speleorex, which can be translated to the 'king of the cave'."

Other creatures so far found in the depths of the Movile include water scorpions, leeches, and tiny spiders. They all rely on the nutrients provided by the oxidation of gases, including methane and sulfur by bacteria. It's the only ecosystem in the world to rely on this type of chemosynthesis, but the cave is unusual in other ways, too. Having been in complete darkness for millions of years, many of the creatures down here are blind and completely colourless.

Some of the species inside the Movile cave can be found outside its boundaries too... (MORE)
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Less ice in arctic ocean has complex effects on marine ecosystem & ocean productivity C C 0 21 Mar 4, 2024 10:26 PM
Last Post: C C
  Underground “zombie fires” continue to burn even at 74 degrees below zero C C 0 61 Dec 10, 2021 02:43 AM
Last Post: C C
  Study: 200M+ in U.S. could have toxic PFAS in drinking water (Earth H2O) C C 0 133 Oct 16, 2020 09:22 PM
Last Post: C C



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)