Spilaio Milatou

Higher Geography
Region: Kriti,
Sub-Region: Lasithi,
Municipality: Agios Nikolaos,
Closest Settlement: Milatos
Cave type
Natural
Description / Comments

The cave is situated 1km east of the village of Milatos on the northern cliffs of a gorge at 170m a.s.l. It is easily accessible from the main road through a 270m path. The cave has 8 entrances along a face of 40m. The total floor area is 2,100 sq. m but a small percentage is not accessed by daylight. Inside the cave, there is a small church dedicated to St Thomas and an ossuary, containing bones from the victims killed in the cave by ottomans in 1823. Although it’s not officially a show cave, several thousand people are visiting it every year. 

Protection status
  • K876 - Latsidiani Kefala Dimou Neapolis [Wildlife Refuge]: OGG 787/Β/2001
Fauna
  • Acanthopetalum furculigerum (Verhoeff, 1901), Strasser 1976, Stoev et al. 2008, Felesaki et al. 2010
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Diplopoda / Order: Callipodida / Family: Schizopetalidae
  • Agelena orientalis C. L. Koch, 1837, Roewer 1959, Bosmans et al. 2013
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Agelenidae
  • Carpophilus sp., Coiffait 1955, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Coleoptera / Family: Nitidulidae
  • Dolichopoda paraskevii Boudou-Saltet, 1973, Chopard 1957, Boudou-Saltet 1973a, Willemse 1984, Kollaros et al. 1991, Bacceti 1992, Di Russo et al. 2014, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Orthoptera / Family: Rhaphidophoridae
  • Ephippiochthonius creticus (Mahnert, 1979), Mahnert 1979, Schawaller 1990, Harvey 1991, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Pseudoscorpionida / Family: Chthoniidae
  • Ephippiochthonius minous (Mahnert, 1979), Mahnert 1979, Gardini 1988, Schawaller 1990, Harvey 1991, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Pseudoscorpionida / Family: Chthoniidae
  • Hoplopholcus minotaurinus Senglet, 1971, Senglet 1971, Brignoli 1976, Brignoli 1979a, Brignoli 1984, Gasparo 2003, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Huber 2012, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016, Eberle et al 2018, Huber 2020
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Pholcidae
  • Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837), Benda et al. 2009, Benda et al. 2019, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Vespertilionidae
  • Larca bosselaersi Henderickx and Vets, 2002, Henderickx & Vets 2002, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Pseudoscorpionida / Family: Larcidae
  • Lithobius nigripalpis L. Koch, 1867, Chamberlin 1956, Eason 1990, Zapparoli 1994, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Chilopoda / Order: Lithobiomorpha / Family: Lithobiidae
  • Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820), Bosmans et al. 2013
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Sicariidae
  • Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817), Skiba 2007, Benda et al. 2009, Benda et al. 2019, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Miniopteridae
  • Minotauria attemsi Kulczynski, 1903, Roewer 1959, Brignoli 1979a, Deeleman-Reinhold 1993, Gasparo 2003, Gasparo 2004a, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Dysderidae
  • Myotis blythii (Tomes, 1857), Hanak et al. 2001, Benda et al. 2009, Beron 2016, Benda et al. 2019, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Vespertilionidae
  • Myotis emarginatus (Geoffroy, 1806), Skiba 2007, Benda et al. 2009, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Vespertilionidae
  • Ovaliptila lindbergi (Chopard 1957), Chopard 1957, Willemse 1984, Kollaros et al. 1987, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Orthoptera / Family: Gryllidae
  • Pachyiulus varius (Fabricius, 1781), Lang 1964, Felesaki et al. 2010, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Diplopoda / Order: Julida / Family: Julidae
  • Penicillidia conspicua Speiser, 1901, Ševčík et al. 2013
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Diptera / Family: Nycteribiidae
  • Porcellionides pruinosus (Brandt, 1833), Schmalfuss 1979, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Malacostraca / Order: Isopoda / Family: Porcellionidae
  • Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774), Iliopoulou-Georgudaki 1977, Iliopoulou-Georgudaki 1979, Iliopoulou-Georgudaki 1983b, Iliopoulou-Georgudaki & Ondrias 1986, Hanak et al. 2001, Benda et al. 2009, Beron 2016, Benda et al. 2019, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
  • Rhinolophus hipposideros (André, 1797), Iliopoulou-Georgudaki 1977, Iliopoulou-Georgudaki 1983b, Hanak et al. 2001, Skiba 2007, Benda et al. 2009, Beron 2016, Benda et al. 2019, Benda et al. 2022, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
  • Rhodera hypogea Deeleman-Reinhold, 1989, Deeleman-Reinhold 1989, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Dysderidae
  • Schizidium perplexum (Vandel, 1958), Vandel 1958, Schmalfuss 1972b, Schmalfuss 1975, Schmalfuss 1979, Paragamian et al. 1987, Schmalfuss et al. 2004, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Malacostraca / Order: Isopoda / Family: Armadillidiidae
  • Sulcia cretica Fage, 1945, Gasparo 2003, Gasparo 2006, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016, Ledford et al. 2021
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Leptonetidae
  • Tegenaria parietina (Fourcroy, 1785), Roewer 1959, Brignoli 1979b, Brignoli 1984, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Bolzern 2010, Bolzern et al. 2013, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Agelenidae
  • Tegenaria schmalfussi Brignoli, 1976, Brignoli 1976, Brignoli 1979b, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Gasparo 2006, Bolzern 2010, Bolzern et al. 2013, Bosmans et al. 2013, Beron 2016, Ballarin et al. 2020
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Agelenidae
  • Trichoniscus cavernicola Vandel, 1958, Schmalfuss et al. 2004, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Malacostraca / Order: Isopoda / Family: Trichoniscidae
  • Troglophilus spinulosus Chopard, 1921, Kollaros et al. 1987, Kollaros et al. 1991, Di Russo et al. 2014
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Orthoptera / Family: Rhaphidophoridae
  • Xerocrassa lasithiensis Hausdorf & Sauer, 2009, Hausdorf & Sauer 2009
    Phylum: Mollusca / Class: Gastropoda / Order: Stylommatophora / Family: Hygromiidae
  • Zelotes solstitialis Levy, 1998, Bosmans et al. 2013
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Gnaphosideae
Cave references
  • Lindberg, K. 1955. Notes sur le grottes de l΄ île de Crète. Fragm. balc. Skopje 1(19):165-174.
  • Petrocheilou, A. 1984. The Greek Caves. Ekdotiki Athinon 160pp.
  • Petrocheilou, A. 1970. The cave Milatou Meramvelou (CRNr 55). Bull. Soc. Speleol. Grèce 10:34–39.
  • Platakis, E. 1976. The caves of Lasithi. Prefecture of Lasithi Agios Nikolaos.
Species references
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  • Benda, P., Ševčík, M., Bego, F., Sachanowicz, K., Spitzenberger, F., Tájek, P., Tájková, P., Uhrin, M. 2019. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 15. The fauna of bats and bat ectoparasites of Albania with a catalogue of bats from the western Balkans in the collection of the National Museum, Prague. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 83: 1–238
  • Benda P, Uvizl M, Vallo P, Reiter A, & Uhrin M. 2022. A revision of the Rhinolophus hipposideros group (Chiroptera : Rhinolophidae) with definition of an additional species from the Middle East. Acta Chiropterologica, 24(2): 269–298. https://doi.org/10.3161/15081109ACC2022.24.2.001
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  • Bolzern, A. 2010. Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Tegenaria- Malthonica -complex (Araneae, Agelenidae), using morphological and molecular data.. PHD Thesis. Faculty of Science, University of Basel, Switzerland, 292pp
  • Bolzern, A., Burckhardt, D. & Hänggi, A. 2013. Phylogeny and taxonomy of European funnel-web spiders of the Tegenaria-Malthonica complex (Araneae: Agelenidae) based upon morphological and molecular data. Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 168 (4): 723-848.
  • Bosmans, R. & Chatzaki, M. 2005. A catalogue of the spiders of Greece. A critical review of all spider species cited from Greece with their localities. Newsletter Belg. Arachn. Soc., 20 (2): 1-124.
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Citation
Paragamian, K. 2025. Fauna of the cave Spilaio Milatou, Milatos, Agios Nikolaos, Kriti. In Paragamian, K., M. Poulinakis, S. Paragamian and I. Nikoloudakis. Cave fauna of Greece database - Hellenic Institute of Speleological Research. Cave data updated 15.12.2023, Accessed 28.10.2025