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Olm

Proteus anguinus

Classification

Order
Caudata
Family
Proteidae

The olm (German: [ɔlm] ) or proteus (Proteus anguinus) is an aquatic salamander which is the only species in the genus Proteus of the family Proteidae and the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate species found in Europe; the family's other extant genus is Necturus. In contrast to most amphibians, it is entirely aquatic; eating, sleeping, and breeding underwater. Living in caves found in the Dinaric Alps, it is endemic to the waters that flow underground through the extensive limestone bedrock of the karst of Central and Southeastern Europe in the basin of the Soča River (Italian: Isonzo)…

Distribution

(c) Lennart Hudel, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lennart Hudel · CC-BY
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Countries in the Picchu catalog
Italy · 14France · 1Germany · 1