Recent cave exploration has turned up a tiny, top-heavy snail that glistens under the light of the microscope lens. Only 1.80 mm tall, this transparent snail bulges at the middle, giving a natural appearance to the ''muffin-top'' waistline. The article reveals new biodiversity from the seldom explored caves of central Laos.

Cave Surveys MCRA makes available * Drawn up surveys (below). * The data collected to produce surveys. (Through the Cave Data Archive maintained by the CSG and BCA.) The following surveys are available for download as reduced size images or PDF scans. These are reasonably adequate for printing, but if you require a copy of the original file (mainly high resolution TIFF format) please contact the MCRA.

Documents Forms If you have any expense claims please use one of the following forms: * [CSCC Expenses Form (.pdf)] * [CSCC Expenses Form (Excel format)] Minutes and Officer Reports 2020 * EGM in lieu of postponed AGM, Sat 26th September 2020 * [Agenda V5 24-9-20], [Proposed New Constitution], Current Constitution (for comparison), [The Future of CSCC Meetings], [C & A Report], [Accounts 2019] [Treasurer & Webmaster Reports], [AGM/EGM Draft Minutes - 2 Nov 2020] * GM Wed 29…

Dear Southern Cavers, As most all of you will be aware, the government announced on Saturday that new lockdown measures will be introduced from Thursday 5th November in an attempt to control the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. The details of these measures can be found at

Cerberus have re-opened Larkshall to members and guests on a very limited basis with effect from 1st October 2020. All Government legislation and guidance has been taken into account in producing our operating rules which are available online. For booking information visit:

Mega-droughts - droughts that last two decades or longer - are tipped to increase thanks to climate change, according to new research.

When startled, do all fish respond the same way? A few fish, like Mexican cavefish, have evolved in unique environments without any predators. To see how this lack of predation impacts escape responses that are highly stereotyped across fish species, scientists explored this tiny fish to determine if there are evolved differences in them. Findings reveal that the dramatic ecological differences between cave and river environments contribute to differences in escape behavior in blind cavefish and river-dwelling surface cavefish.

Further to the decision by Longleat to close the show caves and suspend their operations in Cheddar, they have notified CSCC that with immediate effect caver access to all caves on Longleat property which includes the whole south side of the Gorge, is no longer available. This includes all caves and digs, and affects sites such as Reservoir Hole, Spider Hole, Goughs Cave, Long Hole, Great Oones etc.

Documents Forms If you have any expense claims please use one of the following forms: * [CSCC Expenses Form (.pdf)] * [CSCC Expenses Form (Excel format)] Minutes and Officer Reports 2020 * EGM in lieu of postponed AGM, Sat 26th September 2020 * [Agenda V5 24-9-20], [Proposed New Constitution], Current Constitution (for comparison), [The Future of CSCC Meetings], [C & A Report], [Accounts 2019] [Treasurer & Webmaster Reports], [AGM/EGM Draft Minutes - 12 Oct 2020] * GM Wed 2…

Documents Forms If you have any expense claims please use one of the following forms: * [CSCC Expenses Form (.pdf)] * [CSCC Expenses Form (Excel format)] Minutes and Officer Reports 2020 * EGM in lieu of postponed AGM, Sat 26th September 2020 * [Agenda V5 24-9-20], [Proposed New Constitution], Current Constitution (for comparison), [The Future of CSCC Meetings], [C & A Report], [Accounts 2019 (Draft)] [Treasurer & Webmaster Reports], [AGM/EGM Draft Minutes - 12 Oct 2020] * …

Access News Access to caves in Cheddar Gorge Further to the decision by Longleat to close the show caves and suspend their operations in Cheddar, they have notified CSCC that with immediate effect caver access to all caves on Longleat property which includes the whole south side of the Gorge, is no longer available. This includes all caves and digs, and affects sites such as Reservoir Hole, Spider Hole, Goughs Cave, Long Hole, Great Oones etc.

Further to the decision by Longleat to close the show caves and suspend their operations in Cheddar, they have notified CSCC that with immediate effect caver access to all caves on Longleat property which includes the whole south side of the Gorge, is no longer available. This includes all caves and digs, and affects sites such as Reservoir Hole, Spider Hole, Goughs Cave, Long Hole, Great Oones etc.

Constitution The Constitution of the Council of Southern Caving Clubs * The name shall be ‘The Council of Southern Caving Clubs’. * The objects shall be: * a. To encourage the exchange of information between caving clubs and other similar bodies in the South of England.