{"id":39763,"date":"2024-07-05T13:46:33","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T11:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/c4435c86-f248-4923-9e25-e87798feee27"},"modified":"2024-07-05T14:27:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T12:27:30","slug":"postojna-cave-discover-an-enchanting-underworld-in-the-heart-of-slovenia","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/postojna-cave-discover-an-enchanting-underworld-in-the-heart-of-slovenia\/","title":{"rendered":"Postojna Cave: Discover an enchanting underworld in the heart of Slovenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Megan Shersby explores one of the world’s most spectacular caves, Postojna Cave <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 05 July 2024 at 11:46 AM<\/p>

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Postojna Cave is world-famous and is located in Slovenian\u2019s karst region \u2013 a limestone plateau that stretches from southwest Slovenia to northeast Italy. <\/strong><\/p>

The cave was carved by the Pivka River across millions of years, and many parts of the cave system are still flooded.\u00a0Graffiti dating to 1213 shows that the caves have been used by humans for centuries. <\/p>

How big is Postojna Cave? <\/h2>

The Postojna Cave system is over 24km long, with at least four caves, connected by the river, and home to a variety of breathtaking rock formations, and to the secretive \u2018dragons\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>

What is Postojna Cave most famous for?<\/h2>
Exploring beautiful Postojna Cave. Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Postojna Cave is famous for its five-metre-tall bright-white stalagmite called\u00a0Brilliant.<\/p>

Postojna Cave, and the surrounding cave system, is also famous for the unusual number of species adapted to live in this ecosystem<\/a>, including the mysterious olm<\/a> – the secret dragons.<\/p>

Postojna Cave wildlife<\/h2>
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Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Alongside the olm, there are over 100 other troglobites in Postojna, including spiders, pseudoscorpions<\/a> and shrimp.\u00a0<\/p>

In fact, the first ever troglobite described by science \u2013 the slenderneck beetle or blind cave beetle,\u00a0Leptodirus hochenwartii<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 was from Postojna. First discovered by cave lamplighter Luka Cec, the beetle was passed on to Count Franz Josef von Hochenwart \u2013 who was creating a guidebook to the caves \u2013 who passed it on to beetle expert Ferdinand Schmidt.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cIt did not take long for Schmidt to realise this was a true troglobite,\u201d explains Katja Dolenc Batagelj from Postojna Cave management. \u201cThe scientific circles were thrilled by the discovery and, because of the beetle and further discoveries, Postojna Cave became known as the cradle of a new science \u2013 speleobiology, the study of subterranean animals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

The slenderneck beetle is referred to as the first troglobite to be labelled as such, because it was described in reference to its habitat. When olms were first scientifically described by Josephus Nicolaus Luarenti in 1768, the olms had been found outside of caves, when they had been washed out by high waters.\u00a0<\/p>

How has the slenderneck beetle adapted to cave-living?<\/h2>

The slenderneck beetle also exhibits a number of adaptations for its cave-dwelling lifestyle. Like the olm, it has an extended lifespan compared to its surface-dwelling relatives and is also eyeless. It lacks any pigment, with its brown colour coming from the chitin in its exoskeleton. Its elongated antennae and tiny sensory hairs help it to move around the cave and, as it doesn\u2019t need to fly, its elytra, or wing-cases, are fused together to create a dome, which allows it to regulate moisture.\u00a0<\/p>