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Portrait of an olm

The olm or proteus (Proteus anguinus) is an aquatic salamander in the family Proteidae, the only cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic; it eats, sleeps, and breeds underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through extensive limestone of karst of Central and Southeastern Europe, specifically southern Slovenia, the Soča river basin near Trieste, Italy, southwestern Croatia, and Herzegovina.

This animal is most notable for its adaptations to a life of complete darkness in its underground habitat. The olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are acutely developed. It also lacks any pigmentation in its skin. It has three toes on its forelimbs, but only two toes on its hind feet. It also exhibits neoteny, retaining larval characteristics like external gills into adulthood, like the American amphibians, the axolotl and the mudpuppy. The olm is the only species in the Proteus genus, the only European species of the Proteidae family. It was first mentioned in 1689 by the local naturalist Valvasor in his Glory of the Duchy of Carniola, who reported that, after heavy rains, the olms were washed up from the underground waters and made local people believe that they saw a cave dragon's offspring. (see more...)