Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests at the highest elevations. Other native tree species include Caspian Locust ("Gleditsia caspica"), Velvet Maple ("Acer velutinum"), Cappadocian Maple ("Acer cappadocicum"), European Ash ("Fraxinus excelsior"), Wych Elm ("Ulmus glabra"), Wild Cherry ("Prunus avium"), Wild Service Tree ("Sorbus torminalis") and lime tree ("Tilia platyphyllos"). The Caspian tiger ("Panthera tigris virgata") once roamed these mountains, but is now extinct. Other large mammals here are the Caucasus leopard ("Panthera pardus ciscaucasica"), lynx ("Lynx lynx"), brown bear ("Ursus arctos"), wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), wolf ("Canis lupus"), golden jackal ("Canis aureus"), jungle cat ("Felis chaus"), badger ("Meles meles"), and otter ("Lutra lutra"). This ecoregion is
River Meles no other traces with claim to antiquity was found in the area. Although Halkapınar corresponds admirably to ancient accounts, some scholars continue to doubt whether it is also the Meles of the early city of Smyrna. There is no natural cave at Halkapınar where Homer would have sat down to write, but there is one on the "Kemer – Caravan Bridge Meles", near the aqueducts in İzmir's Buca district and now known as "Kızılçullu Aqueducts", which were built by the Romans and extensively used and well preserved by their successors in the region. Because of the existence of the cave