Fauna of Sesalac Cave
Researching the invertebrate fauna of Sesalac Cave has identified species from the groups of springtails (Collembola), true flies (Diptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and orthopterans (Orthoptera).
Order Orthoptera
Family Raphidophoridae
Troglophilus neglectus is a troglophilic species with a disjoint distribution area, spread across the hilly and mountainous parts of eastern and western Serbia, western Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia. It is most often found in the entrance sections of speleological objects but can also be found outside in rotten tree trunks and stumps. In Sesalac Cave, about a dozen females at different stages of development were found.
Order Coleoptera
Family Carabidae
Laemostenus terricola has a distribution that covers all of Europe and the Caucasus and has also been introduced to North America and India. It is a common species in underground facilities in Serbia, especially if they are inhabited by bats, where they feed on small invertebrates found in guano. In the material collected in Sesalac Cave, this species dominates, leading to the conclusion that a larger bat population is present in the cave.
Order Coleoptera
Family Staphylinidae
Quedius mesomelinus skoraszewskyi. The range of this subspecies covers central and southeastern Europe. It is a troglophilic species often found in speleological objects in eastern Serbia.
Amphibians
Among the representatives of the amphibian and reptile fauna around Sesalac Cave, a large number of species can be found throughout the territory of Serbia. Out of the total number of species in these groups for the area of Serbia, which is approximately 45 species (21 species of amphibians and 24 species of reptiles), a total of 22 species have been recorded in the area surrounding Sesalac and Sesalac Cave (6 species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles).
Bats
Sesalac Cave is one of Serbia’s most important summer breeding roosts and winter hibernation sites for bats.
Pseudoscorpion
Sesalac Cave is also home to pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpionida, Pseudoscorpiones), tiny arachnid-like animals that closely resemble scorpions.
How to get to Sesalac Cave
Sesalac Cave is 17 km from Sokobanja, 46 km from Aleksinac, 80 km from Niš, and 245 km from Belgrade. The easiest way to reach the site is from the regional road Sokobanja–Knjaževac, turning north near Čitluk toward the villages of Sesalac and Milušinac, then at the intersection turning left through the village of Sesalac.
