Motena Cave Natural Monument () is a karst cave located 0.7 km to the south from village First Balda (Pirveli Baldi The root of the name Barda or Balda in Megrelian language means a hill. Residents of the village Barda were named Bardelebi ) in Martvili Municipality in Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia, 437 meters above sea level.Motena Cave in Georgia Protected Planet Cave is located on left bank of Abasha river. In Middle Ages Motena cave was integral part of the now lost fortress.
Morphology Motena Cave is a karst cave, formed in Askhi karst massif. The total length of the cave is 75 m. It has two storey with big hall on each connected by a narrow passage. The first hall is 30 m in length and 24–25 m in height.Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Cave is naturally decorated with many stalactites, stalagmites, travertine cascades and cave curtains. Motena Cave Natural Monument - MartviliMotena Cave Natural Monument National Parks of Georgia Part of the cave has collapsed and mortared stone wall is protecting cave interior. მოთენას მღვიმის ბუნების ძეგლი
Fauna The inhabitants of the cave are spiders and insects, namely Trachysphaera, Heteromurus, Lepidocyrtus, Tomocerus, Sphaerozetes, Chamobates, Porobelba, Adaugammarus, Parasitus, Pergamasus, Xiphocaridinella,Marin, Ivan. (2019). A new stygobiotic Xiphocaridinella (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) from the Motena Cave, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region of Georgia, Caucasus. Zootaxa. 4648. 592-600. 10.11646/zootaxa.4648.3.12. Troglocaridicola, Scutariella, and Tectocepheus. Barjadze, Sh., Arabuli, T., Mumladze, L., Maghradze, E., Asanidze, Z., Kutalia, T. Motena Cave Cave Biodiversity of Georgia, Open Access Database, 2019. Institute of Zoology at Ilia State University
See also Jortsku Cave Natural Monument Balda Canyon Natural Monument
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