The inhabitants of the Movile cave are like no other.The "other world" conditions of this Romanian cave, a few miles west of the Black Sea, were sealed for about 5.5 million years. Although the air in this isolated cave is toxic and unbearably humid, this cocktail of factors has created a gold mine for biologists, thanks to its incredible inhabitants.
An isolated cave for millions of years.years hiding incredible inhabitants
Less than 100 people have deepened the cave, it was only discovered by humans in 1986, when workers from the Socialist Republic of Romania were looking for new ways to build a nuclear power plant. Today, it is blocked by the authorities and can only be accessed with a special permit , even though the central caverns are naturally "guarded" by a series of vertical limestone shafts and tunnels narrow.
Once in the At the bottom of the cave, the air contains half the amount of normal oxygen, and is rich in carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.It is also black and n or has seen sunlight for at least 5, 5 million years.

But within this hostile environment, scientists have so far identified 48 species .Among the creatures are a set of Aranas, water scorpions, pseudoscorpions, centipedes, leeches, and isopods, 33 of which are totally unique in this cave.
Most of the incredible inhabitants of this isolated cave for so many millions of years They have no vision and lack pigments. After all, who needs sight or being seen in the dark in an environment like this? They are also, in general, lanky, with extra-long members and antennas that help navigate in the dark.

As if this world was not strange enough, e s the only known ecosystem , based only on chemosynthetic bacteria .Most ecosystems use photosynthesis for energy.However, since there is no natural sunlight in the cave, bacteria need to get their energy and carbon directly from reactions chemicals, such as sulfur oxidation or ammonium oxidation.

But, as these animals ended up in the cave before being isolated, it is still unclear to the Scientists ."It is very likely that the bacteria have been there for much more than five million years, but that the insects were trapped there at that time," said J.Colin Murrell, a microbiologist at the University of East Anglia."They could have simply fallen , and get caught when the limestone cast was reduced, sealing the cave until it was discovered again in 1986.»

There are still many mysteries that lie deep inside the Movile cave.But Even after only 30 years of knowing its existence, researchers still have many more inhabitants to discover, some of whom may contain massive ideas in evolutionary biology and even the nature of life itself.
Yes You liked to know this isolated cave for millions of years and its fauna, you can not miss our Article about the 10 incredible creatures of the Mariana Trench.
Image: bbc.com
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