Underground aqueduct I, Afantou

Higher Geography
Region: Notio Aigaio,
Sub-Region: Rodos,
Municipality: Rodos,
Closest Settlement: Afantou
Cave Synonyms
Ydragogeio I, Afandou, Grotta di Paradiso, Spilaio Paradeisos
Cave type
Artificial
Description / Comments

It is an underground aqueduct constructed in Neogene rocks during Roman times. The tunnels, 2m in height and 0.8m in width, have a total length of 159 m, covering an area of 115 sq.m. 

Fauna
  • Anopheles claviger (Meigen, 1804), Bezzi 1929, Ghigi 1929, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Diptera / Family: Culicidae
  • Chaetophiloscia cellaria (Dollfus, 1884), Arcangeli 1929, Ghigi 1929, Arcangeli 1935, Strouhal 1937, Schmalfuss 1990, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Malacostraca / Order: Isopoda / Family: Philosciidae
  • Chironomus sp., Bezzi 1929, Ghigi 1929, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Diptera / Family: Chironomidae
  • Holocnemus pluchei (Scopoli, 1763), Di Caporiacco 1929, Ghigi 1929, Bosmans & Chatzaki 2005, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Pholcidae
  • Leiobunum ghigii Caporiacco, 1929, Di Caporiacco 1929, Ghigi 1929, Gruber 1978, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Opiliones / Family: Phalangiidae
  • Rhinolophus blasii Peters, 1866, Ghigi 1929, Van Laar & Daan 1964, Hanak et al. 2001, Beron 2016, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
  • Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774), De Beaux 1929, Ghigi 1929, Van Laar & Daan 1964, Ondrias 1965, Hanak et al. 2001, Beron 2016, Georgiakakis et al. 2023
    Phylum: Chordata / Class: Mammalia / Order: Chiroptera / Family: Rhinolophidae
  • Tegenaria argaeica Nosek, 1905, Di Caporiacco 1929, Ghigi 1929, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Arachnida / Order: Araneae / Family: Agelenidae
  • Troglophilus lagoi Menozzi, 1934, Menozzi 1935, Willemse 1984, Di Russo et al. 2014, Beron 2016
    Phylum: Arthropoda / Class: Insecta / Order: Orthoptera / Family: Rhaphidophoridae
Cave references
  • Ghigi, A. 1929. Risultati generali e conclusioni.. In: A. Ghigi, R. Issel, A. Brian, R. Sanducci, V. Citterio, F. Alzani. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Arch. zool. ital. 13: 423-484.
  • Papanikolaou, N. 2000. Speleological researches in Rodos. Bull. Soc. Speleol. Grèce 22:123–136.
Species references
  • Arcangeli, A. 1929. Isopodi. In Ghigi A., R. Issel, A. Brian, R. Sanducci, V. Citterio, F. Alzani. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Publisher. pp. 259- 268.
  • Arcangeli, A. 1935. Nuovi contributi alla conoscenza della fauna delle isole dell΄Egeo. III. Isopodi Terrestri. Boll. Lab. Zool. gen. agr. Portici, 28: 37-69.
  • Beron, P. 2016. Faune cavernicole de la Grèce. Maison d'édition Est-West., Sofia. pp. 229.
  • Bezzi, M. 1929. Ditteri. In Ghigi A.;Issel, R.;Brian, A.;Sanducci, R.;Citterio, V.;Alzani, F. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Publisher. pp. 135-154.
  • 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.
  • De Beaux, O. 1929. Mammiferi. In Ghigi A.;Issel, R.;Brian, A.;Sanducci, R.;Citterio, V.;Alzani, F. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Publisher. pp. 135-154.
  • Di Caporiacco, L. 1929. Aracnidi. In Ghigi A.;R. Issel;A. Brian;R. Sanducci;V. Citterio;F. Alzani. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Publisher. pp. 351-372.
  • Di Russo, C., Rampini, M. & Cobolli, M. 2014. The cave crickets of Greece: a contribution to the study of Southern Balkan Rhaphidophoridae diversity (Orthoptera), with the description of a new species of Troglophilus Krauss , 1879. Biodiversity Journal, 5 (3): 397-420.
  • 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
  • Ghigi, A. 1929. Risultati generali e conclusioni. In A. Ghigi, R. Issel, A. Brian, R. Sanducci, V. Citterio, F. Alzani. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole Italiane dell΄Egeo. Arch. zool. ital. 13: 423-484.
  • Gruber, V. J. 1978. Weberknechte (Opiliones, Arach.) von Inseln der Ägäis. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, 81: 567-573.
  • Hanak, V., Benda, P., Ruedi, M., Homcek, I. & Sofianidou, T. 2001. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean. Part 2. New records and review of distribution of bats in Greece. Acta Societatis Zoologicae Bohemicae, 65: 279-346.
  • Menozzi, C. 1935. Nuovi contributi alla conoscenza della fauna delle isole italiane del΄ Egeo. IV. Una nuova species di Troglophilus Krauss di Rodi (Orthoptera-Phasgonuridae). Boll. Lab. Zool. gen. agr. Portici, 28: 192-196.
  • Ondrias, J. C. 1965. Die Säugetiere Griechenlands. Säugetierk. Mitt., 13 (3): 109-127.
  • Schmalfuss, H. 1990. Die Landisopoden (Oniscidea) Griechenlands. 11. Beitrag: Gattung Chaetophiloscia (Philosciidae). Rev. suisse Zool., 97 (1): 169-193.
  • Strouhal, H. 1937. Isopoda terrestria Aegaei. (10. Beitrag zur Landisopodenfauna des Balkans). Acta Inst. Mus. Zool. Univ. Atheniensis, 1 (9/10): 193-262.
  • Van Laar, V. & Daan, S. 1964. On some Chiroptera from Greece. Beaufortia, 120 (10): 158-166.
  • Willemse, F. 1984. Catalogue of the Orthoptera of Greece. Fauna Graeciae I. Hellenic Zoological Society. pp. 275.
Citation
Paragamian, K. 2026. Fauna of the cave Underground aqueduct I, Afantou, Afantou, Rodos, Notio Aigaio. In Paragamian, K., M. Poulinakis, S. Paragamian and I. Nikoloudakis. Cave fauna of Greece database - Hellenic Institute of Speleological Research. Cave data updated 18.04.2018, Accessed 09.03.2026