This 2-billion-year-old mountain stretches 14km and hides a strange, hairy predator

Imagine yourself standing on a mighty monolith of sandstone, in an erupting cloudscape, being completely cut off from the world. This isn't a scene from a movie about fantasy; it's the real-world reality of South America's Tepuis.

The dramatic mountains with flat tops cut through the thick forest canopy that covers Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana and rise many thousands of feet in the air. They appear to be floating islands suspended from time. Local Indigenous Pemon people call them"tepuis," which literally means "house of gods", and it's not hard to comprehend the reason.Sky islands, as well as ancient mysteriesGeologists have estimated that the sandstone towers that make up these plateaus are 1.7 to 2 billion years old.

They are among the oldest rock formations that are exposed in the world. For hundreds of millions of years, the relentless erosion of these rocks destroyed the entire landscape in the process, leaving behind hundreds of small tablelands.In the midst of these amazing geological marvels, Mount Roraima stands out as an absolute giant. It is located between Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. This huge plateau measures 14 kilometres in length and is 5 km wide.

Its southern edge reaches the dazzling height of 2,810 metres. Due to the sheer cliffs, Tepuis make it nearly impossible for animals of the lowlands to reach the summits, which are now highly secluded ecological zones.

The extreme isolation of the summits has transformed the summit of Mount Roraima into a living archive of time, in which evolution has followed a distinct route.The bizarre and mysterious wildlife of an undiscovered worldLife at the top of a Tepui mountain is gorgeous, yet rough. Based on a fascinating research study that was published in the European Journal of Taxonomy, the mountaintops that are isolated and weathered by the sandstone mountain range form isolated ecological islands.

This geographical isolation prevents species from mixing with populations of the lowlands, which results in a remarkable level of endemism. That means many species living in Mount Roraima cannot be found elsewhere on Earth.The range includes a variety of mouse species and robust insects to highly specialised amphibians; the peak is full of rare species. In particular, scientists frequently investigate the distinctive behaviour of the pebble toad, an amphibian of tiny size that is unable to walk or swim.

Instead, it evades prey by forming the shape of a ball, then rolling over the old rocks in the shape of pebbles. The unique survival strategies show how amazingly life evolves even in a cloud-encased environment for thousands of years.

The stunning predators of the plateauIt isn't the only thing that has adapted to the poor-in-nutrients, weathered, and sand-like soil on the top. The life of plants that grow on Mount Roraima is equally inventive and diverse, particularly those that are carnivorous.

Since the sandstone of old is deficient in important nutrients, like nitrogen, some plants resorted to hunting in order to sustain themselves.The most attractive species of the fog-covered landscape is Drosera kaieteurensis, an amazing kind of sundew. The tiny plant is characterised by a bright red hue, which acts as a visible beacon to the dark, wet stones. The leaves of this plant are covered with delicate hairs and are capped with a hefty and shiny substance which resembles sweet nectar.Based on an ecological study released in Copeia, the extreme environmental challenges and the infertile soils found in the Pantepui area force the local plants to depend heavily on specialised mechanisms for nutrient gathering to withstand the harsh temperatures. The sundew does this by using its sparkling, sugar-coated traps, which are used to entice unwitting insects. After an insect has landed on the ground, it gets engulfed by the goo. It then slowly wraps around its victim and releases powerful enzymes that dissolve the prey and absorb vital nutrients directly into the leaves.If you are a modern traveller and someone who loves nature, Mount Roraima represents the absolute off-the-beaten-path adventure. It is a unique look into an uninhabited old world that's been unchanged throughout the centuries.