Ayalon Cave

The Ayalon Cave (, Arabic/Aramaic, Shiha شيحا) is a large limestone cave near Ramla, Israel, with a worldwide unique ecosystem. As photosynthesis is not possible inside the completely dark cave, the food chain that developed inside is solely based on bacteria capable of chemosynthesis: the bacteria are consuming the inorganic matter available in the groundwater, and then themselves become the organic food source for the rest of the food chain. As of 2021, Ayalon Cave was one of less than 10 such subterranean ecosystems known in the world, with each of them being distinctly different from the rest. Eight new invertebrate species were discovered there in April 2006 - four seawater and freshwater crustaceans along with four terrestrial animals, one of them a species of blind scorpion – with many more expected to be discovered.