WORLD NEWS: HIDDEN ANCIENT TREES AND POSSIBLE NEW SPECIES FOUND AT FLOOR OF GIANT SINKHOLE IN CHINA
Cave explorers in southern China may have found the modern-day equivalent of The Lost World.
At the bottom of the newly discovered 630-foot deep sinkhole lies a hidden forest, lush with shoulder-high flora and tall trees.
Researchers also think there may be new species of animals and plants within the sinkhole, which is made up of three caves and measures 5 million square meters, the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic swimming pools.
The sinkhole was discovered in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, near Ping’e village in the county of Leye, according to the Chinese government’s official news agency Xinhua, The area of southern China is known for its caves, sinkholes, and karst forests, limestone formations that populate the landscape.
Leader of the cave exploration team, Chen Lixin, told Xinhua the ancient trees growing at the bottom of the sinkhole are nearly 130 feet tall – taller than most oak trees. Dense shade plants grew as tall as the explorers’ shoulders, Lixin said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now,” Lixin said, according to Live Science.
