Olm
Proteus anguinus
VulnerablePhoto: Arne Hodalič · CC BY-SA 3.0
Amphibiancarnivore
The olm is a pale, cave-dwelling salamander that spends its entire life underwater in the dark limestone caves of Central and Southeastern Europe. Unlike most amphibians, it never comes to land, even for breeding. Locals once thought these strange creatures were baby cave dragons washed up after heavy rains.
- The only cave-dwelling chordate found in Europe.
- First described scientifically in 1689 by naturalist Valvasor.
- Introduced populations now live near Vicenza, Italy and Kranj, Slovenia.
CaveFreshwaterEurope
Read more on WikipediaAt a glance
- Classification
- Amphibian
- Scientific name
- Proteus anguinus
- Habitat
- Cave, Freshwater
- Regions in this directory
- Europe
- Diet
- carnivore
- Relative size
- small
- IUCN Red List
- Vulnerable (VU)
