AA CAVE B15: rattle spider

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A rift cave entrance in Miocene Kopili alternations (Upper Sylhet stage) and is characterised by no peculiarities except speleothems (note 1) and a brief descent through the Kopili alternations followed by a hot and steamy (note 2) ca. 50 m shaft breaking into a large chamber and a rift system (note 3) developed in Miocene Kopili Limesone above Eocene Umlatodoh (Middle Sylhet) Limestone (note 4). At first, this cave consists of a 70 m shaft (Brown et al. 2008 Mss Monday 18th February) without identified shape or characteristic peculiarities but at a closer look reavealed a 50 m shaft (Brown et al. 2008 Mss Tuesday 19th February) without identified shape or characteristics except two ways on (Brown et al. 2008 Mss Monday 18th February), including a possible draughting dig at the end (Brown et al. 2008 Mss Tuesday 19th February) or a lower storey without peculiarities (Siegenthaler 2008 Mss 19.2.08 Dienstag). ETYMOLOGY: The Khasi noun ”ka thap bawa” is a spider while ”ka thap ba ngem” i a ground spider (SINGH, N 1906: 224). Siegenthaler (2008 Mss 19.2.08 Dienstag) was led to believe the Swiss-German -Tarantelhöhle- translates into a Khasi (Synteng?) Krem Krem Thapbawa SITUATION 1: According to Siegenthaler (2008 Mss 19.2.08 Dienstag), B15 … Krem Thapbawa = Tarantelhöhle lies at a linear or walking distance of not even 20 m in a unspecified direction from another entrance, the next B15., and was got at from an unspecified point (without GPS position) somewhere on the road from the 2008 camp to the village of Lumthari. SITUATION 2: T. Redder (in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard sink (B15) Um Masi B15a) places … B15b [rattle spider] about 20 m to the north of this [i.e. B15a or three cows] cave. SITUATION 3: T. Redder (2008.02.19 Mss: B15b Krem Thapbawa) clearly positions B15b Krem Thapbawa (rattle spider) at N25°22'25.6”: Eo92°32'41.6” (WGS84, imagined precision error ±6 m): 994 m asl but then adds confusion with placing this same entrance about 8 m south-east o N25°22'24.7”: E092°32'41.8” (note 5) but this position indicates a spot that lies 28.4 m SSE from B15 (rattle spider) and 6.4 m in a direct line approximately WNW from B15 (three cows). Simon J. Brooks (undated Mss amendment to Redder 2008.02.19 Mss: B15b Krem Thapbawa) contributes the comment Khaidong Area (in brackets). SITUATION 4: Brown et al. (2008 Mss: Meghalaya 2008 diary) clearly points out B15 (Tuesday 19th February) has no location of its own while the B15 that had been recorded (Tuesday 19th February) or original B15 shaft (Wednesday 20th February) lies at a linear or walking distance of estimated 8 m south of that 50 m pitch (Wednesday 20th February), which was a 70 m shaft (Monday 18th February) that habe been thought was B15 (Tuesday 19th February). SITUATION 5: According to the recorded GPS postions, the AA Cave -B15b- (rattle spider) at N25°22'25.6”: E092°32'41.6” (WGS84 ±6 m): 994 m asl T. Redder 2008.02.19), lies at linear distances of 38.0 m approximately nrth-north-east (34.0 m north and 16.8 m east) from AA Cave -B15a- (three cows) at N25°22'24.5”: E092°32'42.2” (WGS84, allegedly ±5 m): 987 m asl (T. Redder 2008.02.18) but 7 m higher up and 33.9 m approximately north-north-east (30.9 m north and 11.2 m east) from AA Cave -B15a- (three cows) at N25°22'24.6”: E092°32'42.0” (WGS84, allegedly ±10 m): 982 m asl (R.F. Sheen 2008.02.09 GPS Garmin Etrex) but 12 m higher up. APPROACH: Alys Mendus (in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard sink (B15) Um Masi B15a) suggests to Head W to line of pine trees - follow down gully. Hole at co-ordinates N25°22'25.6” E092°32'41.6” 994 m ±6 1/2° clino but the circumstances are too unclear to decide if this is meant to find AA Cave B15 (rattle spider) or –>AA Cave B15 (three cows), CAVE DESCRIPTION 1: Climb down in hole and under boulder into rift. Follow right for 20 m towards south to head of pitch (50 m), warm draught [note 5] (Torben Redder erroneously in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard sin (B15) Um Masi B15a). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2: 15 m from GPS down daylight rift then into cave to pitch head beware of false floor - use hand line. 50 m freehang to flowstone ledge through large chamber approx. 30 m diameter at top, descending into 3 m wide rift system. Impressive calcite and crystal formations halfway down including 35n column. Sand and gravel at rift floor (Alys Mendus in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard …). CAVE DESCRIPTION 3: A 50 m pitch descends to a lower storey without obvious penetrable continuations, and reaches a maximum depth just short of 100 m: Es ging nirgends mehr weiter … das unterste Stockwerk der Höhle … 50m-Schacht … Die Krem Thapbawa ist knapp nicht 100 m tief geworden (Siegenthaler 2008 Mss: Expeditionstagebuch: 19.2.08 Dienstag). CAVE DESCRIPTION 4: On Mondays, B15 is represented by a … 70 m shaft. The bottom of shaft choked, but there were 2 ways on (Brown et al. 2008 Mss: Meghalaya 2008 diary: Monday 18th February) but consists on Tuesdays of a 5 m pitch where obvious leads were looked at (Brown et al. 2008 Mss: Meghalaya 2008 diary: Tuesday 19th February). TACKLE: 10 m rope (handline above false floor), 65 m big pitch. 32 m to bottom of rift (Mendus, A. in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard …).SPELEOMETRY: 19.02.08; Lumthari; B15 Thapbawa; team:TR, PL, RS; 2008 survey: 196.72; total: 196.72; vertical: 98.1 (Brown et al. 2008 Mss: Survey Summary). PROSPECTS: T. Redder (2008.02.19 Mss: B15b Krem Thapbawa) points out that digging is needed to follow draught at bottom. CAVE LIFE: Tarantula in bottom chamber! Small huntsman spiders [Arachnidae: Aranea: Sparassidae: conf. Heteropoda sp.]. Disc shaped snails approx. 3 cm diameter - two in open rift by surface. Millipede -10 cm long (bottom of cave rift) (Mendus, A. in: McNally 2008.02.09 Mss: Graveyard …). Rolf Siegenthaler (2008 Mss) noticed and videoed (2008.02.18) a sound producing spider (conf. Arachnida: Aranea) almost 100 m vertically below the entrance: 19.2.08 Dienstag … Gaz unten filmte ich die tarantelähnliche Spinne, die ein zischend - klapperndes Geräusch … von sich gab, als wir sie störten.z unten filmte ich die tarantelähnliche Spinne, die ein zischend - klapperndes Geräusch … von sich gab, als wir sie störten.