 
| 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 Cyclopinidae indet., Pseudocyclopidae indet., Calanoida indet., Neocyclops remanei mediterraneus, Schizopera
clandestina, Nitocra affinis, Esola spelaea, as well as fresh water taxa, viz. Eucyclops
serrulatus, Bryocamptus pygmaeus, Bryocamptus dentatus, Parastenocarididae (?) indet.; 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. 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 DIPTERA (Culex pipiens, Nycteribosca kollari, Nycteribia sp.,
MIRIAPODS (Lysiopethalum sicanum, Cryptos hortensis, Lithobius picens peregrinus, Trachidesmus simoni granulatus, Glomeris pulchra
quarnerona craspeda, Geophilus guanophilus) SPIDERS [Zangherella apuliae (new entry) MITES (Macrocheles penicilliger, Macrocheles minervae, Bdellonyssus
arcuatus, Rhizoglyphus echinopus, Periglischurus interruptus,
Bdellonyssus arenatus, Ornithonyssus arcuatus) CHIROPTERANS (Myotis capaccini, Rhinolophus euryale, Miniopteris
schreibersi)
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)
IL CARSISMO DELL'AREA MEDITERRANEA:I° Incontro di Studi
[click on the images to enlarge] [click on the images to enlarge]
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Mem.Biogeogr. Adriatica, 3: 1-143. 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.
Thanks are due to
M.M. Camassa, S. Inguscio and V. Fersini Designer and Administrator : Giuseppe
L. Pesce © 1997-2022 G.L.Pesce All Rights Reserved. Text and images on
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