[register number: 141 Pu; 39° 59' 42"N - 5° 57' 58"E]     L'Abisso, one of the most remarkable cave of South Italy, is a large breakdown anchialine cavity which opens itself 100 m far from the Ionian sea coast, about 1 km south of the town of Castromarina (Otranto, Lecce). The cave consists of a main wide pool, most in complete darkness, with slightly brackish water (salinity ranging from 2.7 to 2.9) and temperature from 19.5 to 21.0°C, and some lateral smaller pools with the same ecological characteristics. The aquatic fauna shows similarity with that of the "Zinzulusa" and "Buco dei Diavoli" caves, situated respectively at Castromarina (Otranto, Lecce) and Porto Badisco (Otranto, Lecce). It embraces both true freshwater taxa and brackish water species. Among the former there are the noteworthy decapod Typhlocaris salentina, the mysids Spelaeomysis bottazzii and Stygiomysis hydruntina, the thermosbaenaceans Monodella stygicola, the amphipods Hadzia minuta and Salentinella gracillima and the ostracod Pseudolimnocythere hypogaea; the latter are represented by the copepods Metacyclops stammeri, Nitocra reducta, Halicyclops rotundipes and Esola spelaea, and the water mite Lohmannella stammeri Recently we identified other stygophilic ostracods, viz. Cypria ophtalmica and Plesiocypridopsis newtoni, which appreciably increase the species "richness" of the cave. IMAGES The terrestrial fauna includes as well interesting species among isopod (Armadillidium pallesii frontirostrae, Triconiscus ruffoi, Trachelipus cameranii), spiders (Pholcus phalangioides), coleopterans (Italodytes stammeri, Atheta dulutipennis, Catopomorphus orientalis), pseudoscorpions (Hadoblothrus gigas) and miriapods (Glomeris pulchra, Glomeris stammeri, Lysiopethalum sicanum, Litobius picensis, Scutigera coleopterata.)

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