The Claim
There’s a cave filled with poison that hasn’t been touched for 5.5 million years.
Movile cave, also known as poison cave is a large cave system that discovered in Romania in 1986 and is located a couple of miles away from the coast of the Black sea.
The cave is thought to have been completely sealed off from the rest of the world for 5.5 million years, based on the atmosphere and rock and specimen testing. The reason the cave is known as poison cave is because the air within the cave is, well, poisonous. It some areas it contains less than half the oxygen content of regular breathable air, as well as high concentrations of other gases such as Methane and hydrogen sulphide.
The air within the cave also has over 100 times the amount of carbon dioxide in it compared to the outside world, but all these deadly gases haven’t stopped various creepy things from living down there.
So far 48 different species have been found in the cave, which are mostly made up of leeches and spiders, as well as a single type of water scorpion and a snail. These creatures feed on microbial mats which form on the surface of water within the cave, which in turn are fed on by grazing animals who feed the predator species, creating a self contained Eco-system.
(One of the creepy things that live within poison cave – a unique species of woodlouse)
One of the most interesting things about the cave is that the microbes that live there are thought to be similar the ones that existed on the surface 5.5 million years ago when the earth was believed to have been covered in a thick atmosphere which trapped large amount of Co2 in the atmosphere.
The cave dwelling microbes were somehow sealed off when the cave became separated and never got the chance to evolve by making contact with new substances and organisms. Since the cave is so hard to explore due to the air and water being poisonous, scientists theorise that there could be a treasure trove of historical artifacts within the floors of the cave, holding many specimens from a forgotten era, and possible holding the remains of various undiscovered animal species.
Recent Comments