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[register number: 107 Pu; 40°
00' 40" N - 5° 58'44" E]
The "Zinzulusa", one of the most famous anchialine
cave of South Italy, and a remarkable subterranean hotspot of biodiversity, shows itself with a large entrance in front of the Ionian sea, 2 km
north of Castromarina (Lecce,
Italy). The cave, which originated by karst erosive processes pending the Pleistocene
(Tirrenian), is composed of three distinct parts. The first, which extends from the
entrance to the room named "La Cripta", is excavated in compact Eocenic
limestone, and it is characterized by numerous and beautiful stalactites and stalagmites,
vault ruins and a large brackish pool ("La Conca"); the second part, from
"La Cripta" to the large room "Il Duomo", shows a typical erosive
morphology going back to the Cretaceous age; in this part there are fewer stalactites and
stalagmites and no vault ruins. In the terminal part, about 25 m from the "Il
Duomo", excavated as well in cretaceous rocks, the most remarkable hydrological
phenomenon of the cave, "Il Cocito", can be observed. In this pond a freshwater,
colder lens, about 1 m thick, overlies a layer about 1.5 m deep of brackish water,
confirming the anchialine nature of this hydrological system.
The cave was discovered in the year 1793 by Del Duca, and
successively it was mentioned or described by Monticelli (1807), Brocchi (1821), De Giorgi
(1874) and Botti (1870-1874). Later on, from 1922 to 1958, numerous visitors, viz.
Bottazzi, De Lorentiis, Stasi, Lazzari, Stammer, Larini, Müller, Dresco, Anelli, Cardini,
Blanc, Pasa, Parenzan and Ruffo described the cave, some of them collecting and analysing
the remarkable terrestrial and water animals living inside. Some of these authors supplied
the first reliable data on the stygofauna of the cave; particularly, Ruffo furnished
comprehensive information on the extraordinary aquatic stygofauna inhabiting the two
inside ponds ("La Conca" and "Il Cocito"), pointing out some of the
most ancient and important stygobitic species of the South Italy (Apulia) karst.
In more recent years, from 1972 to 1981, researchers of the "Dipartimento di
Scienze Ambientali" of the University of L'Aquila carried out a project to
investigate the Zinzulusa cave, as well as the other cave and phreatic (wells) habitats of
the Salentine Peninsula, pointing out further systematic and biogeographical data
concerning the subterranean aquatic crustaceans living in the ground waters of the
Salentine Peninsula.
At present, a program of intensive research on the same
karstic area and particularly on the "Zinzulusa" cave ("Zinzulusa:
Speleosub '96") has been promoted by the Castro Commune and the Alderman Nini
Ciccarese. To the research collaborate the "Gruppo Speleologico Salentino - P. de
Lorentiis", the "Gruppo Speleologico Neretino", the "Dipartimento di
Scienze Ambientali" of the University of L'Aquila, and the following diving operators
of the "Gruppo Speleologico Neretino" and the "Corpo Nazionale Soccorso
Alpino Speleologico - C.N.S.A.S.": Antonio Danieli, Raffaele Onorato, Giovanni
Contessa, Riccardo Leonardi, Marco Poto and Giancarlo Calsolaro.
In the course of the above research, still in progress, a new way
to N-W in the Zinzulusa cave has been discovered: the new cavity extends for more than
110 m from the known "Cocito", it is totally submerged, as well as shows a wide
variety of sediments, stalactites, stalagmites and a remarkable stygofauna. In this part
of the cave too, a freshwater lens (about 1.5 m) overlies a brackish water layer about
11.5 m deep. The present discovery brings to about 260 m the total length of the cave
(before only 150 m were known), and definitively disavows the main, past hypotheses
regarding the length and the hydrology of the cave (Parenzan, 1957; Lazzari, 1958; Forti,
1975) which suggested that the "Cocito" pool was completely closed, representing
the terminal part of the cave.
From a biological point of view the first pond inside the cave ("La Conca")
is characterized by more brackish waters and harbours directly sea-originated species, for
the most part copepod crustaceans such as Neocyclops remanei mediterraneus, Schizopera
clandestina, Nitocra affinis, Esola spelaea, as well as fresh water taxa, viz. Eucyclops
serrulatus, Bryocamptus pygmaeus, Bryocamptus dentatus; in the second pool, "Il
Cocito", characterized as oligohaline, lives a typical stygobitic fauna including the
copepods Nitocrella stammeri, Metacyclops
subdolus, Metacyclops stammeri, Ameira scotti, Psyllocamptus monacus and Halicyclops
rotundipes, the ostracod Pseudolymnocythere hypogea, the
amphipod Hadzia minuta, the thermosbaenacean Monodella stygicola, the gastropod
mollusc Ovatella myosotis and the remarkable decapod Typhlocaris salentina.
The stygophilic copepods Metacyclops
minutus and Nitocra spinipes, the water mite Soldanellonix monardi, and the mysid Spelaeomysis bottazzii, can be found
in both the pools, apparently being less affected by temperature and salinity variations.
In the deep "Cocito" (new submerged N-W way), still in course of exploration, to
our great surprise, beside other known noteworthy stygobitic material (copepods, water
mites, decapods), Cyanophyta algae (Oscillatoria sp.) (new entry), the amphipod Salentinella
gracillima, the mysid Stygiomysis
hydruntina, polichaete worms,
previously unrecorded from this cave, and a new stygobitic sponge, Higginsia
ciccaresei, have been collected.
For the most part the stygobitic taxa living in the cave, including the recently
discovered sponge, could be considered palaeomediterranean elements belonging to a warm
fauna which survived the postpliocenic climatic changes which occurred in the
Mediterranean basin; the other taxa, including stygophilic species and subspecies, most
probably colonized the groundwater systems of the cave, as well as the remaining
groundwater net of the Salentine Peninsula, in a rather recent age. The present subaqueous
research and the discoveries in the new way following the "Cocito", actually in
course of exploration, seem to strengthen the above hypothesis, as well as they suggest
that the extension and the complexity of this cave could be much greater than previously
thought.
The terrestrial fauna is also well represented in the
cave, with some troglobitic and numerous troglophilic, parasitic or guanophilic taxa
belonging to different groups:
ISOPODS [Porcellio scaber, Halophiloscia hirsuta, Trichoniscus ruffoi
(= T.fragilis?), Trachelipus camerani]
- PSEUDOSCORPIONS (Chtonius stammeri)
- GASTROPODS (Oxychilus cellarius austriacus)
- OLIGOCHAETES (Bucholzia appendiculata)
- COLLEMBOLS (Heteromurus nitidus, Neogastrura cavicola)
- LEPIDOPTERA (Hypena obsitalis)
- COLEOPTERA (Gnathonus pygidialis)
- ORTHOPTERA (Troglophilus andreini var. hydruntinus)
DIPTERA (Culex pipiens, Nycteribosca kollari, Nycteribia sp.,
Dolicopodidae sp.)
MIRIAPODS (Lysiopethalum sicanum, Cryptos hortensis, Lithobius picens peregrinus, Trachidesmus simoni granulatus, Glomeris pulchra
quarnerona craspeda, Geophilus guanophilus)
SPIDERS [Zangherella apuliae (new entry), Harpactea strandi, Meta marianae, Meta segmentata
segmentata, Pholcus phalangioides, Tegenaria dalmatica (new entry) (erroneously reported as Tegenaria zinzulusensis), Nesticus eremita (new entry), Steatoda grossa (new entry),
Zygiella x-notata (new entry)]
MITES (Macrocheles penicilliger, Macrocheles minervae, Bdellonyssus
arcuatus, Rhizoglyphus echinopus, Periglischurus interruptus,
Bdellonyssus arenatus, Ornithonyssus arcuatus)
CHIROPTERANS (Myotis capaccini, Rhinolophus euryale, Miniopteris
schreibersi)
- NEMATODS (Camassa, unpublished)
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Lots of "foval", vermicular clay formations, with relevant biotic component, constitute the basis for more complex trophic chains in some parts of the cave.
The cave is home, as well, to fossil remains of birds, bovines, felines,
deers, horses, rhinoceros, elephants, bears, hippopotamuses, and Neolithic and Eneolithic
earthenware.
As a whole the fauna of the cave, including both terrestrial and aquatic
animals, exhibits a remarkable, high biological diversity, with about 60 described species
and subspecies which, as Parenzan (1983) and other authors hypothesized, could greatly
increase in the next future! Moreover, the peculiar habitats inside the cave, separated
from the surrounding coastal ambient by sharp environmental gradients, favored unique
edaphic and hydrographic characteristics,as well as the development of an interesting
endemic fauna. In 1998, the Karst Waters Institute (KWI) published a list of what KWI determined to be the ten most endangered karst communities; a project that evolved out of the proceedings of a scientific conference held in February 1997 on the conservation and protection of karst biota. Sponsored by KWI, the conference included 100 participants from 10 countries. Conference participants and other karst experts nominated 40 endangered karst communities in 1998 and 19 karst locations were nominated in 1999 as candidates for KWI's "most endangered" list. The ten sites selected for 1999 are: Cambodian Caves (Cambodia), Church and Bitumen Caves (Bermuda), Edwards Aquifer (USA), Koloa Lava Tube System (USA), Kosciusko Island (USA), Movile Cave (Romania), North-Northwest Karst Province (Puerto Rico), Organ Cave (USA), Snail Shell Cave (USA) and Zinzulusa Cave (Italy). As this project evolves in sophistication and gains publicity, it is the hope of KWI and all of the project's participants that enhanced protection efforts for these karst communities will grow (from: C.S. Belson, Abstracts 14th Int. Symp. Biospeleology, Makarska, Croatia)
LINKS
- Alla Grotta Zinzulusa con gli Speleosub
- RilievoTopografico
- www.itineraweb.com
- Le Grotte Costiere del Salento
- Contributo alla conoscenza degli isopodi acquatici, oligocheti,
- pseudoscorpioni, e scorpioni della Provincia di Lecce
IL CARSISMO DELL'AREA MEDITERRANEA:I° Incontro di Studi- (Castro Marina, 1-2 settembre 1997)
IL CARSISMO NELL'AREA MEDITERRANEA: II° INCONTRO DI STUDI -
Castro Marina (Italy) - 14-16 September 2001 [ABSTRACTS]
IMAGES
[click on the images to enlarge]
SPIDERS
[click on the images to enlarge]
[CAVE MAP]
LITERATURE
ANELLI F. 1951. Le attuali conoscenze biospeleologiche
nelle aree carsiche pugliesi. Boll. soc. It. Biol. Sper., 27 (3): 211-213.
BOTTAZZI.F. 1924. La grotta Zinzulusa in Terra d'Otranto e il ritrovamento in essa di
Typhlocaris. Atti Soc.it. Progr. Sc., 12a Riun. 1923, Catania, II.
BOTTI U. 1871. Le caverne del Capo di Leuca. Tip. salentina, Lecce, 1871.
CAMASSA M.M. (1997). Osservazioni biologiche in una grotta artificiale di Ginosa: ruolo delle foval nell'ecosistema cavernicolo. Il Carsismo nell'Area Mediterranea. 1° Inc. di Studi. Suppl. Thalassia Salentina, 23: 189-191
CAROLI E. 1923. Di una specie italiana di Typhlocaris (T. salentina n.sp.) con
osservazioni morfologiche e biologiche sul genere. Boll. Soc. Nat. Napoli, 35: 265-267.
CAROLI E. 1924. Su di un misidaceo cavernicolo (Spelaeomysis bottazzii n.gen. n.sp.) di
Terra d'Otranto. Rend. Acc. Naz. Lincei, 33, ser.5:512-513.
CAROLI E. 1937. Stygiomysis hydruntina n. gen., n.sp., Misidaceo cavernicolo di terra
d'Otranto, rappresentante di una nuova famiglia. Nota preliminare. Boll. Zool., 8:
219-227.
CICCARESE G. & G.L. PESCE. 1999. La Zinzulusa: 200 anni dopo.Thalassia Salentina. Lecce, suppl. al n. 23: 79-88
CICCARESE G. & G.L. PESCE. (in press). La grotta Zinzulusa presso Castro Marina (Lecce, Italia):
Esplorazioni, Scoperte e Tutela.
Congresso di Speleologia - Lisbona, 1999
DE LORENTIIS P. 1924. Grotte del Salento: La Zinzulusa. "Le Vie d'Italia", n.7,
Milano p.785.
FERRERI D. 1996. Contributo alla conoscenza di isopodi acquatici, oligocheti, pseudoscorpioni e scorpioni della provincia di Lecce. Thalassia Salentina, 22: 5-23.
FERRERI D. S.INGUSCIO & E.PRATO. 1996. Contributo alla conoscenza degli anfipoodi acquatici della provincia di Lecce. Thalassia Salentina, 22: 27-37.
INGUSCIO S., G.L. PESCE & T. PAGLIANI. 1999. Nuove localitŕ di raccolta di Stygiomysis hydruntina Caroli (Mysidacea), Typhlocaris salentina Caroli (Decapoda) e Monodella stygicola Ruffo (Termosbenacea). Thalassia Salentina. Lecce, suppl. al n. 23: 153-157
KARANOVIC I. & G.L. PESCE (in press). Ostracods (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from underground waters of Puglia (Souhern Italy), with redescription of Pseudolimnocythere hypogea Klie, 1938. Thalassia Salentina, Lecce
LAZZARI A. 1966. La Grotta Zinzulusa presso Castro prov. di Lecce (Osservazioni
geo-morfologiche con notizie storico-bibliografiche e due appendici).Ann. Ist. Sup. Sc. e
Lett. S. Chiara, Napoli:1-63
LEONARDI R. 1999. Note di rilevamento e prospettive di studio degli ambienti sommersi di grotta Zinzulusa. Thalassia Salentina., Lecce, suppl. al n. 23: 173-188
ONORATO R. 1996. Il Pianeta Cocito. Thalassia Salentina, 22: 47-50.
ONORATO R. , F. DENITTO & G. BELMONTE. 1999. Le grotte marine del Salento: classificazione, localizzazione e descrizione. Thalassia Salentina, Lecce, 23: 67-116.
PARENZAN P. 1958. Il mistero della Zinzulusa svelato. Storia e biologia dell'interessante
grotta di Castro Marina in terra d'Otranto (Puglie). "Studia Spelaeologica",
vol. 3, Napoli.
PARENZAN P. 1981. Puglia Marittima. Aspetti geologici e biologia marina.Congedo Ed., I-II,
pp.688
PASA A: 1953. Appunti geologici per la paleogeografia delle Puglie. Mem. Biogeogr.
Adriatica, 2: 175-286
PEPE R. & SALVATORE INGUSCIO. 1999. Contributo alla conoscenza dei ragni di grotta del Salento. Itinerari Speleologici, Castella Grotta, Bari, 2(8): 46-51.
PESCE G.L. 1983. Contributo alla conoscenza degli arpacticoidi delle acque sotterranee
della regione pugliese (Crustacea:Copepoda). Thalassia Salentina, 12-13:62-82
PESCE G.L. 1997. La grotta Zinzulusa, scrigno di antiche meraviglie. Magazine Caripuglia,
Bari: 60-63.
PESCE G.L. 2001. The Zinzulusa cave: an endangered biodiversity "Hot Spot" of South Italy. Nat. Croat., Zagreb, 10 (3): 207-212
PESCE G.L. & D.P. GALASSI. 1987. Discovery of the first representative of the genus
Neocyclops Gurney (Copepoda, Halicyclopinae) in groundwater of Italy. Crustaceana, 52
(2):209-212.
PESCE G.L., D. MAGGI & P. TETE. 1985. Stato attuale delle conoscenze sui Ciclopidi
delle acque sotterranee della Puglia (Crustacea: Copepoda):. Carsia Apula, 1: 71-92.
PESCE G.L., G. FUSACCHIA, D. MAGGI & P. TETE'. 1978. Ricerche faunistiche in acque
freatiche del Salento (Contributo alla conoscenza della fauna delle acque sotterranee
dell'Italia centro-meridionale:V). "Thalassia Salentina", Taranto, 8:51.
PESCE G.L. & T. PAGLIANI. 1999. Gli ambienti anchialini della Puglia e la loro fauna. Thalassia Salentina., Lecce, suppl. al n. 23: 89-102
RUFFO S: 1949. Monodella stygicola n.gen. n. sp. nuovo crostaceo Termosbenaceo delle acque
sotterranee della Penisola Salentina. Arch. Zool. It., 34:31-48.
RUFFO S. 1949. Sur Monodella stygicola Ruffo des eaux souterraines de l'Italie
méridionale, deuxieme espéce connue de l'ordre des Thermosbénacés. Hydrobiologia. II:
56-63.
RUFFO S. 1958. Le attuali conoscenze sulla fauna cavernicola della regione pugliese.
Mem.Biogeogr. Adriatica, 3: 1-143.
[REVIEWS]
TOURIST INFORMATION
The cave is situated 2
km north of Castro, along the Main Road Otranto-Leuca (register number: 107 Pu;
geographical coordinates: 40° 00' 40"N - 5° 58' 44"E). Length of the tourist
itinerary about 150 m; remaining part of the cave, including the little pool "Il
Cocito", and the new discovered N-W submerged way following the "Cocito",
is a protected biological area.
Only guided visiting tours from 9.30 a.m to 6,30 p.m. (July 15 - September 15) and from
10.30 a.m to 4.30 p.m. (September 16 -July 14).
Thanks are due to
M.M. Camassa, S. Inguscio and V. Fersini
for their assistance and collaboration.
Designer and Administrator : Giuseppe
L. Pesce Contributor: Gaetano Ciccarese
© 1997-2003 G.L.Pesce All Rights Reserved. Text and images on this website may not be redistributed or put as part of any collection (image archives, etc.) without prior written permission.
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