Mačkova cave

Mačkova cave

 

Mačkova cave (The Great Cave near the village Goranci) is an important ancient and paleontological site in Croatia and this part of Europe.

The research conducted so far have found 12 m deep Quaternary deposits filled with rich paleontological and paleolithic findings, revealing the remains of 138 different animal species and subspecies.

The most numerous are the reamins of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus). The cave is formed in the upper- Triassic limestone. It has two chambers connected by a narrow passage (the first, longer chamber is 18 m long and 14 m wide, whereas the second one is 8 m long and 10 m wide). Its height varies from 3 m at the entrance to only 1,3 m in the inside.

The cave was used as a habitat during the Pleistocene and the early Holocene eras. This is proven by the discovery of different stone and bone handicrafts, as well as the discovery of the frontal bone of the Neanderthal man.

Mačkova cave is also an important underground fauna finding site, revealing two subspecies: troglobitic isopod Androniscus dentiger croaticus and a scarab Laemostenus schreibersii croaticus. These subspecies are present only in northwest Croatia and are therefeore endemic.

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