Dobrogea: Limanu Cave

Limanu Cave is a network maze situated in the southern part of the Dobrogea Plateau (SE Romania), close to the Black Sea coast. It is hosted in Sarmatian (Kersonian) lumashelic and oolithic limestones, interbedded with marls. The total length of its passages is close to 3.5 km, and it preserves evidences of important human impact on its wall morphology. Throughout the cave, human intervention can be identified in the form of carving of walls and ceiling, as well as the buildup of walls made of stacked limestone slabs. Mineralogical data reveal an important presence of magnesian calcite and dolomite. The cave is a Site of Community Importance (ROSCI0191) and hosts the last colony of Rhinolophus mehelyi in Romania, which gathers ~100 individuals, in a steep decline from ~5000 individuals reported from Dobrogea in the 1960s.