CHEHEL DOKHTARAN, Changolak, 2nd (Cave of the)

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

The second -Cave of the Forty Sons- (note 1) at Changolak is situated a little above and on the right-hand side of first Ghar –>Chehel Dokhtaran (Changolak) from which it is separated by a small gorge. Here, the host rock consists of marble and reddish coloured calcite. CAVE DESCRIPTION: A daylight lit antechamber leads up to a porch and continues with a spacious gallery (3.5 to 6 m wide, 5 to 6 m high and 25 m long) with two side passages (2 m and 3 m long). After some 20 m in a direct line one climbs about 2 m up to a ledge. Due to the floor rising to the ceiling space becomes restricted but a crawl continues for about 4 or 5 m. The upper part of the cave is moist and water dropping from the ceiling wets boulders. There are some cauliflower concretions (botryoidal speleothems). In a bypass on the left-hand side occurs very fine grained, brownish to reddish coloured soil and somewhere else bat guano. CAVE CLIMATE: An air temperature of 26°C was measured inside the cave on 17th April 958 when the thermometer read 29°C in the entrance. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1958: 130) recorded and collected Blattida, Coleoptera (Tenebrionidae, Staphylinidae, larvae), Diptera (Mycetophylidae), Acaria, and lizard. Both LINDBERG (1958: 129) and LINDBERG (1961a: 20) observed guano which can be expected to hint to bats (Chiroptera).958 when the thermometer read 29°C in the entrance. CAVE LIFE: LINDBERG (1958: 130) recorded and collected Blattida, Coleoptera (Tenebrionidae, Staphylinidae, larvae), Diptera (Mycetophylidae), Acaria, and lizard. Both LINDBERG (1958: 129) and LINDBERG (1961a: 20) observed guano which can be expected to hint to bats (Chiroptera).