Biodiversity of Montenegrin Caves

The territory of Montenegro represents one of the impressive hotspots of cave-dwelling fauna diversity in the world. As many as 1600 speleological objects are registered in Montenegro, but only 5–10% of them have been explored in terms of biodiversity. An overview of literature data on cave biodiversity in Montenegro is given here. A total of 72 species of micromycetes were registered in 7 caves and the most abundant species were Acrodontium salmoneum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Cladosporium oxysporum, Mucor racemosus f. racemosus, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Rhizopus stolonifer. Regarding dwelling invertebrates, the following groups are represented in Montenegrin caves: Protozoa—ciliates; Turbelaria—tricladids and temnocephalids; Gastropoda; Oligochaeta and Hirudinea; Cladocera, Copepoda, and Ostracoda; Isopoda; Amphipoda; Aranea; Pseudoscorpiones; Palpigradi; Opiliones; Chilopoda; Diplopoda; Collembola; Coleoptera—over 80 species. According to the non-invasive survey method based on environmental DNA (eDNA), indications of the presence of the olm (Proteus anguinus Laurenti 1768) were reconfirmed by finding traces of environmental DNA at several sites in Montenegro.