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Many of the cave s denizens are born without eyes, which would be useless in the dark. Almost all are translucent as they have lost the pigment in their skin.
Many also have extra-long appendages such as antennae to help them feel their way around in the darkness.
And the main predator is the King of the Cave , which measures in at 1.8–2.0 inches (4.6–5.2 cm) in length roughly the size of a baby carrot.
Other species found in the cave include the troglobiont water scorpion, liocranid and nesticid spiders and cave leeches. There are likely many more to be discovered.
The team believe that the centipede Cryptops speleorex, pictured evolved from a surface-dwelling relative over millions of years to cope with the cave s darkness
Deep in a Romanian cave where oxygen concentrations are around half what we’re used to and sulfur is everywhere, researchers have been on the hunt for life. Here, a unique ecosystem has established itself despite the unfavorable conditions thanks to the presence of chemosynthetic bacteria which eats carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. Hanging out in such a place would spell death for humans, but a new research published in the journal ZooKeys reveals, this hellscape for a habitat has a ruler: a troglobiont centipede. The beast is just 52 millimeters (2.5 inches) in length but is the largest of the cave inhabitants discovered in Movile so far. Cryptops speleorex, as it’s been named, translates to King of the cave and represents the centipede standing among its contemporaries.
The king of the Movile cave in Romania is a diminutive one, at under 2 inches in length.
A photo of the newly discovered centipede species Cryptops speleorex, the largest inhabitant of Romania’s Movile cave known to date. (Mihai Baciu, GESS LAB, Mangalia)
(CN) Scientists have discovered a new species of centipede able to survive in the most inhabitable of places, deep within a Romanian cave with an unforgiving atmosphere and some of the harshest environmental conditions.
In a study published Wednesday in the journal Zookeys, international scientists Varpu Vahtera from the University of Turku in Finland, Pavel Stoev from the National Museum of Natural History in Bulgaria, and Nesrine Akkari from the Museum of Natural History in Vienna, Austria, discuss their discovery of this fascinating creature that appears to be the largest inhabitant of the otherworldly cave.
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IMAGE: A photo of the newly discovered species (Cryptops speleorex), the largest inhabitant of the Movile cave (Romania) known to date. view more
Credit: Mihai Baciu, GESS LAB, Mangalia.
Deemed to never see the light of the day, a new species of endemic, troglobiont centipede was discovered by an international team of scientists in the Romanian cave Movile: a unique underground ecosystem, where the oxygen in the air might be half of the amount of what we re used to, yet the sulphurous abounds; and where the animal life only exists because of chemosynthetic bacteria feeding on carbon dioxide and methane.
King of the cave: New centipede on top of the food chain in the sulfur-soaked Movile phys.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phys.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.