KHAM ZINDAN, Darrah-i / Darreh-ye Shakh (Cave at)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Two cave entrances give access to a short crawl descending into a wide chamber with a vaulted ceiling (note 1) are situated close to the summit of a limestone height (without recognised name) above the right (eastern) bank of a stream without recognised name (note 2) somewhere near a village called -Darréh- Chakh- (note 3), which lies at an unknown distance due south of the town of Belcheragh (note 4). CAVE DESCRIPTION: A short rubble slope with lots of admixed snail shells and bird's shit leads to a -grande salle- (large chamber) under a semicircular vault which dominates three lateral extensions at lower elevations. There are noteworthy speleothems. A large part of the chamber, for example, is occupied by a stalactite boss and flowstone. There are several stalactites –though none of considerable length– and stalagmites, including one about 3 m tall (where the ceiling is some 3 m above the floor), colums, organ pipes, and botryoidal caulifower speleothems. The cave walls in the farpart of the Grande Salle (Big Chamber) are wet but there is also a small seasonal (periodic) rivulet and small -mares- (ponds?), pools, and -gours- (rimstone pools). The cave floor consists of soil, mud and stones. A large amount of bat guano, which has yielded most of the fauna which was collected from this cave, is found on the right-hand side when descending into one of the chambres séparées (offset chambers) at the side of the Grande Salle. CAVE CLIMATE: On 29th October 1957 a humidity of 100% and a temperature of 10°C in the air was measured in the Grande Salle, 15°C in the air in a bypass situated underneath one of the Grande Salle's extension, 9°C in the water of a rimstone pool, and 9°C in the air at the entrance. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1958: 123) recorded and collected from the cave walls and floor Oligochaeta, Mollusca, Diplopoda, Coleoptera (Staphylinida), Diptera (Sciarida, Mycetophylida, Helomyzida, Borborida, Diptera pupipares), Aphaniptera, Arachnida (araneida), Acaria,Chiroptera; from bat guano Collembola, Coleoptera (Staphylinida, larva), Diptera (Mycetophylida, Borborida, larva), Acaria; from gour pools Mollusca, Cyclopida. JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001: 1746) list from Grotte Darreh Chak Arachnida: Acari terrestria: Parasitidae: Eugamasus lunulatus J. MÜLLER, collected from bat guano. JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001: 1746, 1749) list from the same site, this time called Grotte Kham Zindan Arachnida: Acari terrestria: Parasitidae: Eugamasus lunulatus J. MÜLLER, collected from bat guano; Arachnida: Acari parasiti: Spinturnicidae: Spinturnix vespertilionis LINNE, collected from the bats (Chiroptera) Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Myotis blythi oxygnathus; Insecta: Diptera: Streblidae: Nycteribosca vexata lindbergi, collected from Myotis Blythi oxynathus (Chiroptera); Vertebrata: Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum irani CHEESMAN; Vertebrata: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae: Myotis blythi oxygnathus MONTICELLI.part of the Grande Salle (Big Chamber) are wet but there is also a small seasonal (periodic) rivulet and small -mares- (ponds?), pools, and -gours- (rimstone pools). The cave floor consists of soil, mud and stones. A large amount of bat guano, which has yielded most of the fauna which was collected from this cave, is found on the right-hand side when descending into one of the chambres séparées (offset chambers) at the side of the Grande Salle. CAVE CLIMATE: On 29th October 1957 a humidity of 100% and a temperature of 10°C in the air was measured in the Grande Salle, 15°C in the air in a bypass situated underneath one of the Grande Salle's extension, 9°C in the water of a rimstone pool, and 9°C in the air at the entrance. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1958: 123) recorded and collected from the cave walls and floor Oligochaeta, Mollusca, Diplopoda, Coleoptera (Staphylinida), Diptera (Sciarida, Mycetophylida, Helomyzida, Borborida, Diptera pupipares), Aphaniptera, Arachnida (araneida), Acaria,Chiroptera; from bat guano Collembola, Coleoptera (Staphylinida, larva), Diptera (Mycetophylida, Borborida, larva), Acaria; from gour pools Mollusca, Cyclopida. JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001: 1746) list from Grotte Darreh Chak Arachnida: Acari terrestria: Parasitidae: Eugamasus lunulatus J. MÜLLER, collected from bat guano. JUBERTHIE & DECU (2001: 1746, 1749) list from the same site, this time called Grotte Kham Zindan Arachnida: Acari terrestria: Parasitidae: Eugamasus lunulatus J. MÜLLER, collected from bat guano; Arachnida: Acari parasiti: Spinturnicidae: Spinturnix vespertilionis LINNE, collected from the bats (Chiroptera) Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Myotis blythi oxygnathus; Insecta: Diptera: Streblidae: Nycteribosca vexata lindbergi, collected from Myotis Blythi oxynathus (Chiroptera); Vertebrata: Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae: Rhinolophus ferrumequinum irani CHEESMAN; Vertebrata: Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae: Myotis blythi oxygnathus MONTICELLI.