Motena Cave Natural Monument (Georgian: მოთენას მღვიმე) is a karst cave located 0.7 km to the south from village First Balda (Pirveli Baldi [1][2] ) in Martvili Municipality in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia, 437 meters above sea level.[3] Cave is located on left bank of Abasha river. In Middle Ages Motena cave was integral part of the now lost fortress.
| Motena Cave Natural Monument | |
|---|---|
 Inside Motena Cave | |
   | |
| Nearest city | Martvili |
| Coordinates | 42°28′35.7″N 42°23′28.2″E / 42.476583°N 42.391167°E |
| Established | 2007 |
| Governing body | Agency of Protected Areas |
| Website | მოთენას მღვიმის ბუნების ძეგლი |
Morphology
editMotena Cave is a karst cave, formed in Askhi karst massif.[4] The total length of the cave is 75 m. It has two storey with big hall on each connected by a narrow passage. The first hall is 30 m in length and 24–25 m in height.[2] Cave is naturally decorated with many stalactites, stalagmites, travertine cascades and cave curtains.[5][6] Part of the cave has collapsed and mortared stone wall is protecting cave interior.[7]
Fauna
editThe inhabitants of the cave are spiders and insects, namely Trachysphaera, Heteromurus, Lepidocyrtus, Tomocerus, Sphaerozetes, Chamobates, Porobelba, Adaugammarus, Parasitus, Pergamasus, Xiphocaridinella,[8] Troglocaridicola, Scutariella, and Tectocepheus. [4]
See also
editReferences
edit
- ^ The root of the name Barda or Balda in Megrelian language means a hill. Residents of the village Barda were named Bardelebi
- ^ a b Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti
- ^ Motena Cave in Georgia Protected Planet
- ^ a b Barjadze, Sh., Arabuli, T., Mumladze, L., Maghradze, E., Asanidze, Z., Kutalia, T. Motena Cave Cave Biodiversity of Georgia, Open Access Database, 2019. Institute of Zoology at Ilia State University
- ^ (in Georgian) Motena Cave Natural Monument - Martvili
- ^ Motena Cave Natural Monument National Parks of Georgia
- ^ (in Georgian) მოთენას მღვიმის ბუნების ძეგლი
- ^ Marin, Ivan. (2019). A new stygobiotic Xiphocaridinella (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) from the Motena Cave, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia, Caucasus. Zootaxa. 4648. 592-600. 10.11646/zootaxa.4648.3.12.
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