Eight multicellular creatures unknown to science were discovered in a cave in Nesher Quarry in Ramla

This is a cave that was a hundred meters deep and that was cut off from the outside world for at least the last 5 million years. In the cave, a biological environment developed, based on sulfur-eating bacteria, headed by marine and freshwater crabs, as well as terrestrial animals

Researchers at the Hebrew University discovered a cave whose entrance was recently uncovered in the Nesher Company's large quarry in Ramla, a new underground world for science that was cut off from the environment for at least 5-7 million years and contains an entire ecological chain that begins with sulfur-loving bacteria, which break down the dihydrogen sulfide that the water is rich in, At a temperature that reaches 31 degrees at the bottom. Above them are single-celled creatures and arthropods, with the largest creatures discovered there being crabs about 5 centimeters long. The special thing is that all the multicellular creatures were blind and lacked pigments due to the long separation, including from light. In fact, the cave constitutes a unique ecosystem and is the only place in Israel where terrestrial animals have been found living only in caves and not outside them.
The cave was discovered about five weeks ago and in a conversation with the science website, Prof. Hanan Dimentman, one of the discoverers, said that the announcement was made public before it reached the scientific journals in order to quickly take measures to preserve the cave, including sealing the opening and replacing it with a door that would only open for a few minutes to allow researchers to enter.

The Hebrew University convened a special press conference this morning on the occasion of the event with the participation of some of the scientists who are responsible for the discovery, including the director of the Cave Research Unit in the Department of Geography Prof. Amos Fromkin, also participating in the press conference were Dr. Hanan Dimentman who described the living creatures that were discovered, Israel Naaman - a doctoral student in the Department of Cave Research, and Joined Dr. Azriel Philersdorf, director of environmental quality at Nesher in the quarry The cave was discovered. Other partners in the discovery Prof. Dov Pour, Prof. Aharon Oren - both from the Institute of Life Sciences.

Israel Naaman, as mentioned he is a cave explorer told the press conference that he came to Nesher Ramla for a routine tour of the caves that are exposed during the massive mining process done in the quarry, and suddenly he saw a new opening created in the mine. "I entered it, I thought it might be a short shaft, but it kept winding. There were times when we had to take the air out of our lungs to pass and there were wider spaces. Then we saw that the system began to branch off in countless directions and suddenly we arrived at a huge hall. We examined it and discovered to our surprise these blind living creatures ."

"This is a unique cave on an international scale" said Prof. Amos Fromkin. "So far, eight species of invertebrates have been located, most of which, we assume, are new to science, including: four species of crabs, a scorpion, a bristletail, an oligochaete and a pseudo-scorpion."
Hanan Dimentman from the Faculty of Life Sciences explains: "From an ecological point of view, this cave is unique. Both from the point of view of Israel and the Levant, and from a global point of view. The environmental conditions and their history. Above the cave there is a layer of clay that prevents the penetration of rainwater and everything they contain - food materials and sometimes animals. This cave was isolated from above throughout its history. The water comes from the depths of the earth A temperature of 31 degrees. The chemical composition of the cave is also different from the usual. The whole ecosystem is different from the systems outside. There are algae in this cave that use the oxygen The food is a great variety of bacteria, some of them oxidize the sulfur and thus create energy above the bacteria in the ecological chain of the cave We found crabs that filter them, and above them the predatory creature - a 2-centimeter long crab. We also found scorpions that, like all the creatures in the cave, were blind, and not live ones either We found their prey, which we believe must be due to the size differences. We'll have to look for them under the big rocks."

According to Prof. Dimantman, many of the crab species - the larger and the smaller ones - are of marine origin. They lived in the sea and penetrated the land system when it was on the shore of what was then the Tethys Sea. The large crab has three closely related species in Italy, Libya and Tabaha, near the Sea of ​​Galilee. Another species we found has relatives in a wider area - overlapping the shores of the ancient Tethys Sea in the Miocene period. The assumption is that the marine fauna arrived 5 million years ago, when there was contact between this system and the sea, and years ago the crustaceans arrived from fresh water bodies. As for the terrestrial animals - all are wingless and all belong to groups of very primitive animals - arthropods. We do not know how to estimate if their origin is not more ancient. By the way, testing the relationship between the new creatures and species known to science is done not only with the old method of comparing the structure of the creatures, but also with the modern method of DNA testing. He concludes.
In response to my question in the question and answer part of the press conference, whether there was any connection between the researchers and the Nesher plant, Dr. Azriel Philersdorf, Nesher's director of environmental quality, answered: "Nesher company has accompanied the research from the beginning. We want to congratulate the researchers on a discovery on a scale and to those who are with us in the semi. We undertook to preserve this discovery, and to allow further research, even though the cave is in the center of the quarry. We will allow the entrance of the scientists and the continuation of the research and activity as necessary for the benefit of this research. The ecological issue has been close to our hearts for many years. We saw in this discovery a WIN WIN. Let's see how it is possible to maintain such a massive industry with big tractors and small creatures.
The limestone is the main resource for these creatures. And as such the location of the cave will require us to make operational changes that will be carried out in different ways. It has economic and environmental consequences. We turned to the authorities and asked to find and promote replacement land for the benefit of these areas. There are no alternatives. We owe the raw materials, we promised to keep the place."

The press release as distributed by the Hebrew University
Researchers at the Hebrew University have discovered in a recently discovered cave in a quarry in Nesher Ramla a new underground world for science with unknown species of animals. The cave is a unique ecosystem and is the only place in Israel where terrestrial animals have been found living only in caves and not outside them. The findings were presented at a press conference held this morning.

"This is a unique cave on an international scale," says Prof. Amos Fromkin from the Cave Research Unit in the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University. "So far, eight species of invertebrates have been found, most of which, we assume, are new to science, including: four species of crabs, a scorpion, a bristletail, an oligochaete and a pseudo-scorpion."

The researchers of the Hebrew University, led by Prof. Amos Fromkin, director of the Cave Research Unit in the Department of Geography, together with Prof. Dov Por, Dr. Hanan Dimantman and Prof. Aharon Oren from the Institute of Life Sciences, Israel Naaman, a qualified student, and other researchers are partners in the research. Water Commission The Ministry of National Infrastructures supports the study of the groundwater discovered in the cave which is part of the Yarkon Taninin aquifer.

The cave that stretches for ½ kilometers is the second longest limestone cave in Israel (after Hariton Cave). The cave is at a depth of 2 meters below the surface of the ground. Exploring the cave requires climbing ropes and in most cases you can only move by crawling. The cave is closed to visitors due to its scientific importance and its location in the heart of an active quarry.

In a pool of water inside the cave live four species of invertebrates, four other species live outside the water, in the caves and halls of the cave.

Unicellular creatures and bacteria were also found in the cave waters. Some of the bacteria utilize the sulfur in the water as a source of energy and form the nutritional basis for the entire ecosystem of the cave in water and on land.

The biological uniqueness of the cave stems from the unique environmental conditions of this cave, and from its history over millions of years. The layer of cardboard (calcareous sedimentary rock of the 'Mount Scopus Group') above the cave prevented the percolation of water and nutrients from the surface into the cave. These reached the cave accompanied by sulfur (a source of energy) with the water. The relatively high temperature of the water in the cave (C�30) and the presence of hydrogen sulfide H2S indicate that at least part of the water in the cave comes from a great depth.

Two species of crabs of marine origin living in the water of the cave testify to their entry into the site during the last marine penetration into the area, several million years ago. The species closest to them lived around the ancient Tethys Sea and did not survive in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea itself, therefore their testimony is extremely important regarding the spread of the ancient sea. It may be possible (with the help of a molecular clock) to estimate the time of the separation of these species from each other and thus to date the event of marine penetration and the expansion of the Tethys Sea. Two other species of crabs in the waters of the cave came to it from fresh or brackish water (brackish).

The CEO of Nesher Yoel Peldshaw said today that the Nesher company will protect the ecosystem discovered in the center of the quarry and prevent any damage to the important find that was discovered, and that the plant will allow university researchers to access the site and investigate the findings in depth.

Peldesho also said that he appreciates that the planning authorities will help the company to develop the quarry in alternative areas, in order to prevent any damage to the findings discovered, and that the company will be extremely careful about a policy of preserving the values ​​of nature and the environment despite the actual operational difficulties that will be caused to it following the discovery of the ecosystem. Peldesho added that the fruitful cooperation between the Nesher company and the researchers from the Hebrew University will continue in the future as well.