8 years ago

Movile Cave is crawling with life.

So far 48 species have been identified, including 33 found nowhere else in the world

Wrote Jasmin Fox-Skelly on September 4th 2015. Read the brilliant BBC Earth article here:

The Movile Cave is a cave in Constanța County, Romania discovered by speleologist and the chief editor of National Geographic Romania: Cristian Lascu. The cave is unique for groundwater ecosystem rich in hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide but very poor in oxygen.

Life in the cave has been separated from the outside for the past 5.5 million years and it is based completely on chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis. 

Instead, the food comes from the strange frothy foam sitting on top of the water. This floating film, which looks like wet tissue paper and can even be torn like paper, contains millions upon millions of bacteria known as “autotrophs”.

Watch the extraordinary documentary, “Ends of the Earth: The Secret Abyss of Movile Cave”, via DailyMotion below: 

also watch Director: Thierry Berrod  brilliant 2010 Documentary: “Life in Hell – Survivors of Darkness” here. 

With 33 new species of life and a history that is a biological enigma, Movile Cave is now considered one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century. Prepare yourself for an amazing journey to the Secret Abyss, and experience a place unlike any you’ve ever imagined.

Photo credit: National Geographic.