Spilaio Eptamylon (Megalo)

Higher Geography
Region: Kentriki Makedonia,
Sub-Region: Serres,
Municipality: Serres,
Closest Settlement: Serres
Cave Synonyms
Megalo Eptamilon cave
Cave type
Natural
Description / Comments

The cave is located at 150m a.s.l in a quarry at the northwest suburbs of Serres. Access to the cave is possible through an 8m descent. It is an underground river that continuously flowing in its last section. The passageways length is 600m long in total, covering an area of 1,950 sq. m.

Protection status
  • GR1260009 - Koilada Timiou Prodromou-menoikion (Special Protection Area): Law 3937/2011 (OGG/Α 60/31.03.2011), Joint Ministerial Decision 50743/2017 (OGG 4432/B/15.12.17). Check site’s Standard Data Form
  • K33 - Viros - I.M. Ag. Nikolaou (Serron-Oinousas-Eptamylon) [Wildlife Refuge]: OGG 706/Β/1982
Fauna
  • Acanthopetalum cycladicum (Verhoeff, 1901), Strasser 1976, Stoev et al. 2008, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Diplopoda / Order: Callipodida / Family: Schizopetalidae
  • Rhinolophus blasii Peters, 1866, Georgiakakis & Papadatou 2015, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
  • Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774), Georgiakakis & Papadatou 2015
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
Cave references
  • Ioannou, I. 1967. The cave Eftamylon, Serres (CRNr 3510). Bull. Soc. Speleol. Grèce 9:42–49.
  • Petrocheilou, A. 1984. The Greek Caves. Ekdotiki Athinon 160pp.
Species references
  • Beron, P. 2016. Faune cavernicole de la Grèce. Maison d'édition Est-West., Sofia. pp. 229.
  • Georgiakakis, P. & Papadatou, E., 2015. Chiroptera, In Papamichael G., Arapis T., Petkidi K., Fytou I & Chatzirvasanis V. 2015. Deliverable 7, C – Phase of Study 7: "Monitoring and evaluation of conservation status mammal species of Community interest in Greece.". Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climatic Change, Athens, scholars Partnership and consultancy firms “ARAPIS THOMAS EYAGGELOY, GEOANALYSI S.A. and PAPACHARISI ALEXANDRA THEODORA ", Athens. pp. 59 (in Greek)
  • Georgiakakis P, Kafkaletou Diez A, Salvarina I, Benda P, Billington G, Dietz C, Billington J, Cove D, Davison S, Cooke M, Papadatou E. 2023. The Bats of Greece: An Updated Review of Their Distribution, Ecology and Conservation. Animals. 2023; 13(15):2529. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13152529
  • Stoev, P., Sierwald, P. & Billey, A. 2008. An annotated world catalogue of the millipede order Callipodida (Arthropoda: Diplopoda).. Zootaxa, 1706:1–50.
  • Strasser, K. 1976. Über Diplopoda-Chilognatha Griechenlands II. Rev. suisse Zool., 83 (3): 579-645.
Citation
Paragamian, K. 2026. Fauna of the cave Spilaio Eptamylon (Megalo), Serres, Serres, Kentriki Makedonia. In Paragamian, K., M. Poulinakis, S. Paragamian and I. Nikoloudakis. Cave fauna of Greece database - Hellenic Institute of Speleological Research. Cave data updated 30.04.2020, Accessed 08.02.2026