Olm Salamanders

What’s white and red and slimy all over? A baby dragon!

Actually, it’s a salamander. This amazing creature is a cave-dwelling amphibian found throughout the Dinaric Alps of the Balkan states. Proteus anguinus grow 8 to 12 inches long, with tiny limbs and feathery gills below a pointed snout.

Adaptations to its chilly subterranean habitat include nearly white skin and small, primitive eyes. However, it has evolved other senses to help it find prey, typically snails, crabs, and similar cave creatures. It is completely aquatic and resembles nothing so much as a white eel with legs. An olm takes 14 years to reach maturity and they are believed to live up to 60 years.

Olm are also called Proteus, from the scientific name, and Human Fish because of its coloring. In periods of heavy rain, olm can wash out of their caves and appear in rivers and streams. According to legend, people already thought dragons lived in the caves. They reasoned that these unusual creatures must be baby dragons.

Olms are heritage animals in Solvenia, where they have appeared on coins and in tourism campaigns. Because their cave habitats are very fragile, they are listed as endangered and wildlife biologists study them closely. This led to the recent release of a video showing a “baby dragon” hatching. Check it out here.