Olm
The olm or proteus (Proteus anguinus) is an amphibian, native to the underground waters of the Dinaric karst that flow through the Soča river basin near Trieste in Italy, through to southern Slovenia, southwestern Croatia, and Herzegovina. It is the only species in the genus Proteus, the only European species of the family Proteidae, and the only European cave-dwelling chordate. It is also called the human fish or humanfish, because of its human-like skin (translated literally from Slovenian: Človeška ribica and Croatian: Čovječja ribica), Cave Salamander, or White Salamander.
| Olm | |
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| Olms in Postojna Cave, Slovenia | |
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| Genus: | Proteus
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| Species: | P. anguinus
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| Binomial name | |
| Proteus anguinus Laurenti, 1768
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Laurenti, 1768
Sket & Arntzen, 1994 | |
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Wikispecies has information on: Proteus anguinus. |
Olm Media
The olm as depicted by the French biologist Gaston Bonnier in 1907
The front part of the olm's head carries sensitive chemo-, mechano-, and electroreceptors.
The olm swims by serpentine bending of the body.
Disproportionately elongated head with gills
The black olm, a subspecies, has a shorter head with more-developed eyes compared to the nominate subspecies.
The research vent-hole in Jelševnik near Črnomelj, where quality checks of water and sediments are performed regularly, and where activities of black olms are registered with an IR camera
