|
Orlova Chuka
Orlova Chuka ( bg, Орлова чука) is a cave situated in the Danubian Plain, north-eastern Bulgaria. With a total length of 13,437 m, Orlova Chuka is the second longest cave in the country after Duhlata. The cave was discovered in 1941 and opened for tourists in 1957. Orlova Chuka is home to 14 species of bats. Location Orlova Chuka is situated on the left slopes of the Cherni Lom river valley. It is located in Ruse Province at 11 km to the east of the town of Dve Mogili, 3 km to north of the village of Pepelina, and 45 km south of the capital of the province, Ruse. The entrance of the cave is 40 m above the river and is accessible through a steep path. The entrance terrace provides a scenic overlook of the Rusenski Lom Nature Park and the rock formations of the river valley. Geology The total length of the cave is 13,437 m, which makes Orlova Chuka the second longest cave in Bulgaria after Duhlata. The cave has a constant year-round temperature of 14 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dve Mogili
Dve Mogili ( bg, Две могили, ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Ruse Province. It is the administrative centre of Dve Mogili Municipality, which lies in the western part of the area. Dve Mogili is located 32 kilometres away from the provincial capital of Ruse. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 4,342 inhabitants.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009 The town's name means "two graves" and is derived from the geographic features of the surrounding area, namely the two hills near the town. Dve Mogili was first mentioned in the early 15th century. In that period, it had a Bulgarian population. In 1656, the village was inhabited by |
Stalagnate
A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension, or is capable of being melted, may form a stalactite. Stalactites may be composed of lava, minerals, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat (crystallized urine of pack rats). A stalactite is not necessarily a speleothem, though speleothems are the most common form of stalactite because of the abundance of limestone caves. The corresponding formation on the floor of the cave is known as a stalagmite. Mnemonics have been developed for which word refers to which type of formation; one is that ''stalactite'' has a C for "ceiling", and ''stalagmite'' has a G for "ground". Another example is that ''stalactites'' "hang on ''T''ight" and ''stalagmites'' "''M''ight grow up" – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Mouse-eared Bat
The lesser mouse-eared bat or lesser mouse-eared myotis (''Myotis blythii'') is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Distribution Lesser mouse-eared bats can be found in the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Threats The species is decreasing in population due to the pollution and changes in land management. Construction noise has disturbed populations in southern Spain; the population in Andalusia decreased from 30,000 to 14,000 between 1994 and 2002. Herders in Syria and Turkey light fires at cave mouths for their livestock disturbing the bats. Conservation It is protected in most of Europe by Bonn and Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Mouse-eared Bat
The greater mouse-eared bat (''Myotis myotis'') is a European species of bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Description ''Myotis myotis'' is a large bat with a long, broad muzzle and big, long ears. The body's dorsal side is brown to reddish-brown, while the ventral side is dirty white or beige. The tragus forms half of the ear, with a small black tip in most individuals. Wing membranes are brownish in colour. The Greater mouse-eared bat is relatively large for a member of the genus ''Myotis'', weighing up to and measuring 8 to 9 cm from head to tail (a little larger than a house mouse, ''Mus musculus''), making it one of the largest European bats. It has a 40 cm wingspan, with a forearm length of 6 cm, and a 4 to 5 cm long tail. The average lifespan of a greater mouse-eared bat is 3–4 years, although particular individuals have lived up to 14 years. Distribution The greater mouse-eared bat can be found throughout Europe, with populations in most European ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffroy's Bat
Geoffroy's bat (''Myotis emarginatus'') is a species of vesper bat. Description ''M. emarginatus'' is a medium-sized bat with long and woolly fur. The dorsal side of the torso is rust-brown to fox-red and the ventral side is a poorly delineated pale yellowish-brown. The young animals are almost fully grey. The face is light brown. The ears are brown and they have an almost right-angled notch at the outer edge and many scattered, wart-like growths on the auricle. The tip of the tragus does not reach the notch on the edge of the ear. The wings are brown and broad. The edge of the tail membrane is supported by a straight calcar and part of it has short, straight and soft hairs. Ecology Geoffroy's bat feeds primarily on spiders and flies. It forages chiefly in scrubland and grassland, but is also known to frequent olive plantations and in livestock sheds. It typically roosts underground and in human buildings, often together with '' Rhinolophus'' species. Distribution Geoffr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mehely's Horseshoe Bat
Mehely's horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus mehelyi'') is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East. It is distributed in a narrow band around the Mediterranean Sea from North-Western Africa across Portugal, Spain, the Balearics, southern France, Sardinia, Sicily and the Balkan Peninsula to Asia Minor. Description The bat is medium-sized for a member of the genus ''Rhinolophus'', with pale lips and grey-brown ears and flight membranes. The fur is relatively thick, with the base of hairs grey-white. Ventral fur is almost white, while dorsal fur is grey-brown; the line between the dorsal and ventral sides is relatively sharp. Habitat The bat is cave-dwelling, preferring areas of limestone with nearby water. It has been known to roost in caves with other horseshoe bats such as ''Rhinolophus hipposideros'', as well as ''Myotis myotis'' and ''Miniopterus schreibersi''. It prefers to roost in warmer cave cavities, suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat
The Mediterranean horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus euryale'') is a species of insectivorous bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ... in the family Rhinolophidae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and Balkan peninsula, as well as parts of Italy. Physical characteristics The head and body are normally between , with a tail. The wingspan of R. euryale is between , with a standard weight between . The upper connecting process is pointed and slightly bent downwards, and is distinctly longer than the lower connecting process, which is broadly rounded when seen from below. The fur is fluffy, with a light grey base. The dorsal side is grey-brown, with sometimes a slight reddish tinge, while the ventral side is grey-white or yellow-white. Habitat ''R. euryale'' tends t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Horseshoe Bat
The greater horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus ferrumequinum'') is an insectivorous bat of the genus '' Rhinolophus''. Its distribution covers Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Asia. It is the largest of the horseshoe bats in Europe and is thus easily distinguished from other species. The species is sedentary, typically travelling up to between the winter and summer roosts, with the longest recorded movement being . The frequencies used by this bat species for echolocation lie between 69–83 kHz, have most energy at 81 kHz and have an average duration of 37.4 ms. Description The greater horseshoe bat is the largest horseshoe bat in Europe.Schober, W., E. Grimmberger. 1997. It has a distinctive noseleaf, which has a pointed upper part and a horseshoe-shaped lower part. Its horseshoe noseleaf helps to focus the ultrasound it uses to 'see'. The greater horseshoe bat also has tooth and bone structures that are distinct from that of other rhinolophids. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. With its strong scientific base, the IUCN Red List is recognized as the most authoritative guide to the status of biological diversity. A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit. The aim of the IUCN Red List is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to reduce species extinction. According to IUCN the formally stated goals of the Red List are to provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave Bear
The cave bear (''Ursus spelaeus'') is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum. Both the word "cave" and the scientific name ''spelaeus'' are used because fossils of this species were mostly found in caves. This reflects the views of experts that cave bears may have spent more time in caves than the brown bear, which uses caves only for hibernation. Taxonomy Cave bear skeletons were first described in 1774 by Johann Friedrich Esper, in his book ''Newly Discovered Zoolites of Unknown Four Footed Animals''. While scientists at the time considered that the skeletons could belong to apes, canids, felids, or even dragons or unicorns, Esper postulated that they actually belonged to polar bears. Twenty years later, Johann Christian Rosenmüller, an anatomist at Leipzig University, gave the species its binomial name. The bones were so numerous that most researcher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular human manipulation of copper, but prior to the discovery of bronze alloys. Modern researchers consider the period as a subset of the broader Neolithic, but earlier scholars defined it as a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. The archaeological site of Belovode, on Rudnik mountain in Serbia, has the world's oldest securely dated evidence of copper smelting at high temperature, from (7000 BP). The transition from Copper Age to Bronze Age in Europe occurred between the late 5th and the late In the Ancient Near East the Copper Age covered about the same period, beginning in the late and lasting for about a millennium before it gave rise to the Early Bronze Age. Terminology The multiple names result from m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
